


Of Love and Chaos

by burnintoash (funnymorning)



Category: Block B, Winner (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, BlockWinner, M/M, Prank Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-11 23:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5646154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funnymorning/pseuds/burnintoash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College AU where Minho and Jihoon just joined the frat led by Jiho and Kyung, which has been in a constant prank war with the flowerboy frat and Jiho is really depending on Minho and Jihoon this year since they are supposed to be his prodigies. But then, Minho has to go and ruin everything by falling for that one lanky dude in the flowerboy frat like he is Romeo and Seunghoon is a very tall Juliet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jiho and Seunghoon

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to start posting this next week but #ExitMovement happened and I am too askdfjak. With Block B impending comeback, 2016 is going to be entirely owned by BlockWinner, mark my words.
> 
> This is not the fic I intend to post but it takes over my entire writing schedule and I thought why not. You don't need to know Block B to enjoy this fic, although it might help if you do.
> 
> Another thing to note is this is multiple points of views - mostly from the main characters because BlockWinner is actually 12 people, and I can't write from all of them POVs. Hopefully, it doesn't get too confusing!
> 
> Unbeta'ed. All mistakes are mine and I apologize for them in advance!

** Jiho **

Jiho is in a good place in life. He and Kyung are leading the “dopest” fraternity on campus – according to Kyung. Sure, their frat house may be falling apart from years of neglect and lack of funds – seriously, Jiho has fallen down those goddamn loose stairs on the front porch more times than he has written songs and that’s saying a lot. (Kyung says the shabby house gives them character and determination.) But despite their unfortunate living conditions, they are still one of the top frats in this college and throw the best parties – hence, the lack of funds to fix the house despite the multiple poorly advised and equally poorly executed car wash fundraisers. There is still the wobbly wooden ship in their backyard from that one time they decided to throw a pirate theme party for Halloween, and commissioned a carpenter house to build them an actual ship. It is currently housing random stray cats that come out from nowhere ( _“they don’t come out from nowhere Jiho. You keep fucking feeding them!”_ ), and collecting dust like a long forgotten war trophy. 

Anyway, Jiho and Kyung run this shit tight – their parties are legendary (seriously, a pirate ship), and they are hot items on campus – well, Jiho is, Kyung just claims he is – and most importantly, they always win the prank war against the flowerboy house. Except for the last term when Jiho slipped a little because of exams and the flowerboy house shoved a raw chicken breast to decompose in the air vent, making their whole house smells like rotten meat for weeks.

So, this year, Jiho is out for fucking blood. 

Of course, the flowerboy frat has an actual fraternity name with Greek letters and stuff but no one calls them their actual name as long as Ahn Jaehyo and Lee Minhyuk are heading the frat. Plus, they are notorious for only pledging boys who look like they walk straight out of a manga book with their blade sharp jawlines and twinkling eyes. Rumor has it that you have to show proofs of love letters and valentine gifts in order to be considered part of the pledge – a fan club is a guaranteed entry whereas selfie-taking skills and fashion sense are the very basic skills necessary. 

Jiho does not know who started this prank war (he’s lying. He knows damn well who started it – it’s the same person who is responsible for half the shit that goes down on this campus and whom he unfortunately calls his best friend.) But it has been going for a couple of years, since their first year second semester, with Jiho’s house coming out on top most of the times because they have Kyung. And they almost always end up at the Dean’s office for the pranks they pull because again, they have Kyung. It was heavily implied that on their second year, two students from the flowerboy house were assigned to seek therapy because of Kyung. Ahn Jaehyo refused to confirm or deny.

But, this year? This year, they are going to smash it in revenge for the rotten dead meat in their air vent that Jiho had to pay out of his pocket for the maintenance to come and clean up. And even then, his clothes and bedspread smelt like death for weeks. 

Plus, Jiho has his aces coming up this year.

Ace 1 and 2: Minho and Jihoon. They have finally grown from horny little teenagers into actual college men – the horny part might remain though – and are finally coming in to join the frat. And, they are like the double trouble evil twins from Pokémon (are they twins?) as long as you can get them to stop being dumb for 2 seconds. If they do well this year, Jiho can pass the baton of unsurpassable superiority to them so that his sons can live up to the legacy Jiho and Kyung have left on this campus.

And the most important ace: Jiho and Yukwon started fucking over the summer – persistence does pay off and Jiho finally wore Yukwon down after 2 years. And while Yukwon is usually too pretentious for “this frat shit” as he likes to say, he is also 126% evil under that sunshine smile of his, one of the reasons Jiho is head over heels for the idiot. The only point of concern previous years was Yukwon’s wavering loyalty between the two houses depending on whether it is Jiho or Jaehyo that pisses him off more at a given time. Usually it’s Jaehyo but Jiho has his fair share of fuck ups too. Yukwon once conspired with Jaehyo to put bleaching agents in Jiho’s shampoo bottles – a man does not easily recover from wounds like that.

Anyway, Jiho is hoping that his dick is enough of a persuasion for Yukwon to be on his side this year, and with Minho and Jihoon, Ahn Jaehyo’d better start looking for a therapist himself. 

So, they have meetings and stuff as part of initiation and new blood joining in. Taeil even has an agenda typed out and everything, but 10 minutes in and everyone is just trolling around the house, ignoring Taeil’s repeated calls about planning for their next fundraisers. 

The karaoke machine has been on for the past hour (yes, Jiho is aware that the meeting has only officially started 10 minutes back), and Minho and Jihoon are yelling into their respective microphones to see who can sing in a lower tone to Happy. The other recruits – Jiho hasn’t bothered to learn all their names yet – are half paying attention to Taeil out of sympathy and half eating everything, including Kyung’s hidden kit kats someone found in the laundry basket. They are lucky Kyung is off doing something somewhere (something = tragic attempts at flirting, somewhere = the new sorority house two blocks down) because Kyung’s love for his kit kats is only outweighed by his love for his own face.

The new kids are all going to fit right in, basically.

Anyway, the main point is Jiho is bored. He has been trying to sext Yukwon with no success – fucker actually blocked him on twitter and is not picking up his calls or responding to his texts. So, he ends the meeting and tells the new guys that whoever that comes up with the first lethal (he has to clarify multiple times that he doesn’t actually mean lethal, and no, he doesn’t want anyone to actually die) prank for the flowerboy frat will get the good bedroom on the second floor with a view of the campus, and most importantly, far enough from all the other rooms so that you don’t have to suffer through Jiho’s sex noises and Kyung’s sugar-high outbursts at 3 in the morning. With that, he leaves in confidence to go harass Yukwon in person.

He finds Yukwon in the library because even after two years, Kwon hasn’t learned how to hide from Jiho, and pesters him until Yukwon gives in and takes Jiho back to his place. 

The next morning, he comes back to the house – after amazing sex and totally not amazing breakfast because Yukwon is on a health kick again and has nothing but protein bars – and everything on the first floor of the house is in zip tied hell. 

Like, seriously, everything.

The two handles of their fridge are tied together so they can’t open the fridge. Same for all their cupboards and drawers. Their laptops – Jiho doesn’t even know they make zip ties this big to wrap around laptops, what the fuck. All the bottles and cosmetics in the communal shower room are tied together so tightly that Kyung’s pimple cream tube is starting to leak in the middle. The hangers in the laundry room, the water bottles spread across the kitchen counters, their fucking slippers!

And the most infuriating of all, is every piece of scissors and knives they own, zip-tied and laid out on the dining room table like sharp edges of mockery and humiliation. 

Jiho swears up a storm, scaring a few of the new blood, and yells at Minho to go and buy new scissors and thinks there is no other solution to this than killing Ahn Jaehyo. 

** Seunghoon **

Being in a frat is awesome and Seunghoon is going to buy Taehyun like a million fruit baskets for roping him into joining one with him. He thought there would be hazing and sex parties and big American dudes who are into things like football, Coldplay and hooters but so far, it has been cool dudes – with ridiculously good looking faces, but still cool – who are more or less chill unless you accidentally bump into them and mess up their selfie angle. (He has said sorry to Minhyuk for roughly 14 times)

“I would like to give a toast to Seunghoon,” Jaehyo, the frat president and unofficial candy and/or weed supplier – depending on your mood, says, raising his glass full of cheap 3-for-1 wine Jinwoo got from the convenience store earlier. “For successfully launching the first attack on Alpha Psi”.

The brothers sitting around him nods, and raises their respective glasses or plastic cups, looking way too dignified for twenty or so people sitting on the floor of a college house. Minhyuk is even wearing a tie.

“Thank you,” Seunghoon takes a bow anyway because what the hell. He’s the man of the hour. “Actually, it’s because of Taehyun. He managed to get the key to that house.”

Taehyun shrugs from where he is half sitting, half clinging to the arm rest of the lone sofa in the room. “Always happy to use my good looks for the downfall of men.”

“We shouldn’t be careless though.” Minhyuk says, delicately sipping at his wine like a mid-forties housewife on Beverly Hills. “You know Woo Jiho is not going to take this quietly.”

“That’s why we need to strike again.” Jaehyo nods, half paying attention and half trying to fix his hair from the reflection on the wine glass. “Any more brilliant idea, Seunghoon?”

“We still have the key to their house, right?” Seunghoon asks.

“They probably changed it.” Seungyoon says. “I biked past their house last night and there is a locksmith van in front of their house.”

“Smart.” Seunghoon nods. “Whatever. I’ll think of something.”

“How is it going with Yukwon?” Minhyuk asks and Jaehyo twists his face dramatically while somehow making it still looks equally beautiful.

“He’s not picking my calls and trying to run away when I see him in person.”

“Such a young talented child wasted away in Woo Jiho’s hand. The dark side is indeed stronger.” Minhyuk shakes his head in complete somberness and Seunghoon wonders if the cheap wine is getting to his head or if the conversation is going to a place that doesn’t make any sense. Not that it makes much sense in the beginning. 

“Anyway, apart from Alpha Psi matters, we call you up because we will be holding our first welcome back party next week.” Minhyuk continues.

Taehyun sits up straight, his ears would probably perk up if he is an actual cat.

“Now, this party has an entry fee. We all need to eat and live and buy our cosmetics somehow. So, do your best to get your friends to the party. For the first year pledges,” Jinwoo, Seungyoon, Taehyun and Seunghoon all hold their breaths. “This is your first test. Get as many young and impressionable boys and girls to this party using your charms. Whomever that can sell the most tickets will get a very good prize.”

Taehyun grins while Jinwoo starts rubbing his hands together in glee. Seunghoon is a little scared. But only a little, because he just joined the KPOP club on campus yesterday and he is going to yell at every one in the club until all 72 members buy the tickets from him.


	2. Minho and Seunghoon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The age of everyone here is blurred a little because Seunghoon is actually the same age as Jiho/Kyung/Yukwon and Jinwoo is actually older than them.
> 
> For the sake of the story, let's all just assume that Block B kids are 1 to 2 years older than the Winner kids.

** Minho **

“The point,” Jiho says as he dumps another dark plastic bag full of his unwashed clothes on the floor, “of this exercise, Daniel, is not to haze you or punish you needlessly. It’s to teach you a lesson that every wrong decision you make can come back and bite you in your skinny ass.”

Daniel nods, which is kind of impressive given that the guy has been frozen for the past two minutes when every frat brother delightedly dumps their own laundry in front of him, forming a small pile of man stink and too many flannels (damn it, Kyung) on the floor.

Minho would take pity on the guy but he has yet to do laundry since he arrived at campus – which only has been two weeks, it is justified – and he would have to be like Mother Theresa or something to pass up on free laundry.

“And what is the wrong decision you make?” Kyung suddenly appears from the doorway and asks, even though it could not have been physically possible for him to have heard what Jiho just said from the doorway. Then again, it is Kyung.

“I let my keys get stolen.”

“See,” Jiho points at him and stresses, while simultaneously grabbing the cheese puff bag out of Jihoon’s hand and helping himself to a handful. Minho slightly pats Jihoon in condolence. “Even if we are not in the middle of the greatest prank war of the century, you can’t be too careless with your keys. We actually have valuables in this house, you know.”

“I am sorry,” Daniel hangs his head in shame. “I really didn’t think someone would actually steal it.”

“What happened?” Jihoon asks. Right, he wasn’t here when Jiho found out who from the brothers actually enabled the “flowerboy” frat to get into their house in the middle of the night. Minho has had about five years to build up immunity to Jiho’s temper tantrums, so he can block out Jiho when he needs to but poor Daniel. Hopefully, the mental scars left on him are not permanent. 

“Our friend Daniel here,” Kyung throws an arm around Daniel, which is a bad decision in itself because Daniel has a good five inches on him, but Kyung is rarely deterred by these kind of trivial matters and hangs on to the very tip of his toes. “Got distracted because some guy was flirting with him and didn’t even know his keys were lifted.”

“And we know that guy was from the Nu Sigma?” Jihoon asks. 

“Huh?” Jiho replies in a blank face.

“It’s their house name, Jiho.” Kyung sighed. “For the 80th time.”

“Whatever,” Jiho pulls a face. “Who cares? Anyway, yes, he is from their house. Where else could this kind of evil come from? The point is they are known to use their stupidly pretty faces to trap us, like some kind of male college sirens, and we need to be strong, Daniel. We need to resist the pretty faces like the strong men that we are.” 

Right at that moment, Yukwon crashes into the house, yelling “Woo Jiho” from the front door, and Jiho suddenly goes “baby!”, running out of the room like a prime example of Pavlovian response.

Minho sometimes wonder if Jiho knows he is living in a constant state of irony or if he just does not care. 

“And there we go,” Kyung says, completely disgusted. “He’s going to be useless for the rest of the day.”

As if to prove Kyung’s point, Yukwon walks into the room, looking mildly amused with Jiho attached to his side like a very long human-shaped extra limb. 

“What’s all this?” Yukwon points to the bags Daniel has started pulling out of the room into the basement where the washing machines are.

“Laundry,” Kyung answers and sits down on the couch, like that explains everything.

“You didn’t tell me you got some new kid to do your laundry.” Yukwon laments. “I would have brought mine too.”

“I thought you are still trading quiz questions for laundry service in classes you are TA-ing?” Jiho asks.

“It’s a little too early in the semester,” Yukwon replies. “I am luring them into a false sense of safety first.”

Minho is a little alarmed, trying to desperately remember if Yukwon is assigned as TA for any of the class he is taking but Jiho looks like he couldn’t be more in love.

“What’s up, kids?” Yukwon finally greets Minho and Jihoon like he just noticed them lurking over him. “I heard you got screwed over first by the flower dudes.”

Kyung makes an undignified noise from where he is sprawling on the couch. “Is it already spreading across the campus? Jiho, what the fuck, I told you to do damage control.”

“I can’t actually duct tape their mouths shut, Kyung.” Jiho complains and sits down next to him, promptly pulling Yukwon down onto his lap. “I tried before. I know.”

Kyung hisses through his teeth in controlled rage. “I am going to destroy them.”

“Any idea from Jiho’s favorite kids?” Yukwon asks, looking at Minho and Jihoon. Jihoon swallows roughly next to Minho. 

“We can call different household services and pretend like we are from their house?” Minho suggests, the idea has been forming in his mind since the locksmith company showed up at their house a couple of nights back to change the keys. 

“While it is a decent idea,” Kyung says, blindly punching Jiho on the arm when he starts making out with Yukwon, “we already did that in our first year. Seriously, haven’t you read the manual I gave to you?”

“It’s about 300 pages.” Minho whines, thinking of the heavy book that Kyung handed over to the new brothers when they first joined – a book that is professionally bind and bound with its title in big red letters: “THE ART OF (PRANK) WAR – ORIGINALLY BY SUN TZU – REVISED BY PARK KYUNG”.

“And you will read every single page of it.” Kyung glares at him and Minho nods dumbly under his gaze, temporarily forgetting that he can probably throw Kyung out of the window without breaking a sweat. 

“Actually,” Jihoon speaks next to him. “I have an idea. Might cost some money though.”

“This is why we have the prank fund, Jihoonie.” Jiho says. “Hit me with it.” 

“Wait, we have fund?” Jihoon blinks. “But you said we have no money to fix the clogging toilet on the first floor.”

“Prank. Fund.” Jiho stresses. “It is for important matters, Pyo Jihoon. What’s wrong with using the toilet on the second floor?”

Jihoon nods sadly, and Minho resigns himself to getting up an hour early before his classes so that he can use the toilet on the second floor before the whole house wakes up and the bathroom war starts to break out.

** Seunghoon **

“How do I look?” Taehyun asks, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans, which is a feat of miracle in itself given that those jeans are clinging onto Taehyun’s body like saran wrap. 

“Like your pants are going to rip apart if you sit down,” Seunghoon answers and shoulders his way through the kid who is definitely fishing for the compliments he doesn’t even care about. Seunghoon can already hear people coming in downstairs, and he hasn’t even done his hair yet. 

“I should definitely have done more squats,” Taehyun says in regret as he strains his neck to take a good look at his butt in the full-body length mirror next to Seunghoon’s dresser. 

“Why are you here?” Seunghoon asks, carefully waxing his hair until it looks fashionably disheveled. “You should have gone to Jaehyo hyung or Seungyoon if you want compliments.”

“They have horrible fashion sense.” Taehyun wrinkles his nose and says. “And before you ask, I went to Minhyuk hyung first but he just stared at me blankly.”

“He always does that.” 

“I think it’s possible he traded his soul for his dimples.” Taehyun says thoughtfully.

“Stop getting jealous over other people’s dimples, Taehyun,” Seunghoon replies, putting in a last finishing touch onto his hair. “Shouldn’t we be going? I thought we are supposed to help out with the drink setup.”

“More like guard dogs for the drinks,” Taehyun grumbles but follows Seunghoon out of his room. “Jaehyo hyung is so jumpy about Alpha Psi retorting.” 

“It has been four days and they had yet to retaliate, which isn’t normal according to the brothers.” Seunghoon reminds him and gives a nod to one of the sophomore brothers passing by them. “I don’t think we can be too careful.”

“Still,” Taehyun drawls. “I doubt they would poison our drinks.”

“No,” Jaehyo pops out next to them – Seunghoon lets out a little squeal, “but they will put pepper in your jungle juice and you will feel it twice – when it comes in and when it goes out.” 

“Right, the pepper jungle juice chronicle of 2014.” Seunghoon parrots, recalling the debacle Minhyuk recounted when he ran into Seunghoon at the gym the other day. He told the whole story in a flat tone while spotting Seunghoon like they were at a campfire sharing stories and Minhyuk is the bored camp counselor. Except, Seunghoon doesn’t even remember asking Minhyuk to spot him or even speak to him. 

“Yes,” Jaehyo points at him and nods. “So, we are going to be extra cautious this year and make sure that nothing happens to our food and drinks. Anyway, I doubt Alpha Psi could sneak in this year. We already know who their new recruits are, and you guys make sure you didn’t sell tickets to them, right?”

“Yep.”

“Yes, we are sure.” Seunghoon nods. They were given a binder of blacklist complete with printed photos from at least three different angles of all the existing and new brothers of Alpha Psi, and a very strict instruction not to even breathe in the direction of those people. “I only sold it to people I personally know.”

“Which is why I won the ticket sales, and you didn’t.” Seungyoon says from where he is pouring out the chips into a large plastic bowl. Seunghoon is pretty sure he saw Taehyun using the same bowl the other day to wash his makeup brushes. He makes a mental note not to eat chips tonight. 

“You won by two tickets,” Taehyun rolls his eyes next to Seunghoon. 

“A win is still a win,” Seungyoon grins. “And a win means I don’t need to wear those stupid rabbit ears for the rest of the evening.”

Both Taehyun and Seunghoon groan at the reminder. Right, the freshmen are supposed to wear those velvet playboy floppy bunny ears throughout the party. Only Seungyoon is exempted because he sold the most tickets.

“Two fucking tickets,” Taehyun hisses under his breath and takes the ears Jaehyo is gleefully handing over to him. 

Seunghoon sighs, accepting his fate and puts the plastic headband over his head. Why did he even bother doing his hair for fuck’s sake?

*

Fifteen minutes into the party and Seunghoon is starting to feel less like a normal university student enjoying a house party and more like a glorified security guard, looking over every possible entry points and making rounds with other freshmen. At least, when they had to go upstairs to make sure no one has broken in (for the 3rd time tonight), Eric has joined in when Seunghoon started humming the Imperial March, unlike Jinwoo who just stared at Seunghoon blankly. Some kids just do not appreciate pop culture. 

“I spent two nights making this playlist,” Taehyun hisses when Seunghoon comes downstairs from making double sure that no, nobody has forced or sneaked their way through the very tightly shut windows on the second floor. “If I don’t get to dance to at least one song, I am going to dump boiling water on all of Jaehyo hyung’s computers.”

“He still hasn’t let you off of the back door duty?” Seunghoon asks.

“Please don’t call it back door duty.” Taehyun groans. “It sounds like I am guarding someone’s ass, but yes, I am still looking over it.” Taehyun says and nods towards the general direction that he is facing. 

Seunghoon sighs and tugs at his ears, not his actual ears, the floppy rabbit ears that keeps tickling his head. “Doesn’t this count as a form of hazing? I haven’t even had one drink yet.”

“Minhyuk hyung,” Taehyun calls to a passing-by Minhyuk. “Come on, bro. Do we really need to sit and watch the door whole night?”

“You can change with Troy if you want,” Minhyuk shrugs, pointing to the center of the room where Troy is pouring out a bag of ice into the worryingly big plastic tub full of soda, cut fruits and more alcohol than Seunghoon can count. Seriously, he saw Seungyoon dragging a black trash bag full of empty vodka and tequila bottles to the trash bin.

“I’d take manual labor over just sitting on my ass doing nothing,” Taehyun grunts and gets off of his seat. “But seriously, I don’t think anyone from Alpha Psi can sneak in. The back door is locked from the inside and so are the windows.”

“So young and so naïve.” Minhyuk shakes his head, and helps himself to a handful of chips. 

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Seunghoon pipes in. “I really don’t think they …”

As if the mere mention of Alpha Psi’s name is a summoning spell in itself, the front door suddenly opens and instead of the regular party comers, Woo Jiho walks in, tagged along by Park Kyung, if Seunghoon remembers their faces correctly. And a few more of his lackeys – it is easy to see since they are all dressed in the same jerseys like the world’s most cliché Thunderbirds. 

“For fuck’s sake,” Minhyuk swears under his breath next to Seunghoon, and immediately gets up with his back to the food table like a mother chick protecting her eggs. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jaehyo runs out of the kitchen and yells, an olive oil bottle clutched in his hand and a spatula in another, for god know what reasons. 

“Relax, man.” Woo Jiho smiles and while it looks pretty handsome and striking if Seunghoon is being honest with himself, it also reminds Seunghoon of the evil queen from Snow White.

“We are just here to enjoy the party.” Kyung says and even though Seunghoon is sure that dude will come to Seunghoon’s shoulder with shoe lifts on, his common sense is telling Seunghoon to stay the fuck away from him. “Look, we even have tickets.”

And lo and behold, indeed everyone of them is holding the golden tickets Seunghoon has spent last week trying to sell off. Seunghoon is suddenly very glad that the tickets do not have any number to track back to who the seller is because it is not going to be pretty for whoever sold those to the Alpha Psi brothers. 

And as if to confirm his lines of thoughts, Jaehyo turns at them and gives them a pretty impressive glare that promises terrible things in near future for possibly all the freshmen. 

“We will refund you.” Minhyuk says from behind Seunghoon. 

“Are you that scared of us? I mean, it’s understandable.” Woo Jiho smirks. “Since we are in your house without needing to resort to petty theft.” 

Seunghoon can see Taehyun snarling from the corner of his eyes but Seungyoon is standing next to him so hopefully he will stop Taehyun before he attempts to claw Woo Jiho’s eyes out or something. 

“Scared?” Jaehyo sputters. “More like I don’t want to dirty up my party with the likes of you.” 

“C’mon, Jaehyo. We’ll get our two free drinks and go.” Woo Jiho shrugs. “Like friends.”

“Friends my ass,” Jaehyo mutters. “Give them two drinks and watch them. And don’t let them go anywhere outside of this room.”

“Seriously, you are just going to let them roam around?” Seunghoon whispers as Jaehyo turns to him. “Aren’t you being paranoid earlier about any one of them breathing around the house? And now, there is four of them inside.”

“They are probably just here for distraction.” Jaehyo says through his teeth. “I’ll get Eric to go and guard upstairs. Meanwhile, you and the rest of the freshmen, stick to them like peanut butter on bread and don’t let them touch anything.” 

“Right,” Seunghoon nods and eyes over to where Seungyoon is untrustingly handing a cup of soda to one of the Alpha Psi brothers. Since Minhyuk and Jinwoo are surrounding Woo Jiho and Park Kyung, and Taehyun is unashamedly staring at one of the other guys with eyes that could probably melt solid metal, Seunghoon makes his way over to the guy who is gulping down his drink like he has been thirsting for days. 

“What’s up?” The dude smirks when Seunghoon sits down on the empty seat next to him. “You here to make sure I don’t misbehave?”

“Apparently, I can’t trust you people.”

“You people?” He laughs, and Seunghoon hates himself for it, but he finds it incredibly attractive. Well, he has always had inappropriate boners for evil dudes. Goddamn Loki. “C’mon, man, you don’t even know me. Plus, we are not the one who zip tied everything in your house.”

Seunghoon can’t help but smirks at that because it was a genius move even if he says so himself. 

“So, what are you planning for retaliation?” Seunghoon asks. 

“An eye for an eye will make the whole word blind.” The dude says wisely and Seunghoon rolls his eyes. 

“You know, you are kind of cute.” The guy continues and Seunghoon stares at him.

“Are you hitting on me?”

“No? Sort of. I don’t know, I am just saying.” He grins and tugs at Seunghoon’s bunny ears. Seunghoon slaps at his wrist. 

“Fuck off, dude. You can’t seduce me to the dark side.”

“I didn’t say anything about seducing, but now that you have mentioned it.” He leans down so that he is eye level to the sitting Seunghoon, and smirks. And, right, this is flirting. Like flirting level 101, just one step below cheesy double entendres and knowing looks. Seunghoon is well-versed in this.

But, before he can reply anything smart ass or biting, there is a shout behind them and Seunghoon turns his head to see the container of their jungle juice overflowing with bubbles. 

“What the fuck?” Minhyuk exclaims from across the room and Seunghoon can see the blinding and matching grins from Woo Jiho and Park Kyung next to him. 

“What did you do?” He turns to the guy and asks, who just smiles innocently back at him.

“We just got here and you see me just sitting here, enjoying my drink. I didn’t do anything.”

Seunghoon grabs the empty plastic cup in the guy’s hand and see a lone ice cube sitting inside, except that it is starting to melt and he can see the white solid crystal inside. 

“Fucking menthol ice cubes.” Seunghoon hisses, and the guy next to him lets out a small laugh until Seunghoon glares at him. At the same moment, almost everyone in the party starts shouting and making a fuss because the ice in their drinks has melted and now causing people’s drinks to flow over their cups and make a mess.

Not like their jungle juice box is any consolation either because the area around it is already flooded by the overflowed liquid despite the rabid mopping Jinwoo is attempting to do. Jesus Christ, just how much ice did they put in there?

“You came here to gloat.” Seunghoon turns and says in realization. Minhyuk have bought the ice from the campus convenience store earlier, which means this is a pre-mediated attempt with a lot of preparations beforehand. The Alpha Psi dudes are just here to enjoy the mess they made and not to make a brand new one. “God, you truly are evil.”

“Take one to know one.” The dude grins. “I guess that means I am not getting your number? Or your name?”

“Fuck off,” Seunghoon rolls his eyes and gets up to go and get the tissue rolls in the storage room. Jaehyo is off on the side, rapidly speaking – possibly swearing up and down – at a very satisfied Park Kyung and everyone else is either trying to mop up the liquids on the floor or trying to save the surround sound speakers they set up on the floor earlier. 

“I am Minho, by the way.” The dude calls to Seunghoon’s back. “If you are interested.”

“I am not.” Seunghoon yells back and puts a middle finger up, just for good’s measure. 

Nope. He is definitely not interested. No matter how much “Minho” looks good in a black top he is wearing or how his hair is the perfect length for Seunghoon to grab at and play with when they make out.

Nope. Definitely not interested.


	3. Minhyuk and Minho

** Minhyuk **

 

Minhyuk is the first one to notice it because as he keeps reminding everyone, he is the lone brain in this goddamn house and everyone would be already dead from their own incompetence if it is not for him.

First, it was the strange phone calls at random times throughout the day. Jaehyo started complaining after the ringtone rang for the third, but nobody claimed responsibility for it, saying it is not coming from their phones. Minhyuk, at first, just chalked it up to someone forgetting their phone in the public area.

Then, it is the cats. There were incessant meow-ings coming from inside their house, mostly late at night, and while the occasional stray cats will break into their house for leftover pizza, Minhyuk got suspicious because he is still recovering from last year when Woo Jiho somehow managed to smuggle three cats inside their house, and Minhyuk just fucking hates cats, ok? Unfortunately, the photo of him trying to throw the one stubbornly aggressive cat out of the house made it to the campus newspaper, courtesy of one Park Kyung, and next thing Minhyuk knew, he was being HOUNDED by the animal activists across campus. Their house was covered in protest pamphlets for days, for Christ’s sake. He had to work very hard to destroy his reputation as a serial cat abuser. 

And for the past two nights, it had been these disturbing creaks. Minhyuk, at first, did not hear it because he is a heavy sleeper and he firmly believes in the 8-hour-sleep rule. Dark circles and breakouts are nobody’s friend. But Jinwoo continuously knocked on his door until Minhyuk swore about every curse word out there and opened the door in a trance. Apparently, Jinwoo couldn’t sleep because of the noises coming from downstairs like someone is sneaking around on floorboards. And before Minhyuk exasperatedly finished explaining that there is no wood board anywhere in this house, the noise came out from downstairs again, causing Jinwoo to squeak and jump onto Minhyuk like a Panda in pajamas. 

It indeed sounded like someone tiptoeing on a wooden floor, but there is nothing that can produce this kind of noise in this house, so Minhyuk grabs the badminton racket he had in his room, and carefully stepped his way into the corridor, a shaking Jinwoo attached to his back.

He would have hit Seunghoon squared in the face if Jinwoo didn’t pull him back. Unfortunately, Seunghoon had no one pulling him, so he hit Minhyuk right on the head with the … plastic rod thing he was holding. 

“What the fuck?” Minhyuk yelled as Jinwoo scrambled to turn on the hallway light. “What the freaking hell is that?”

“It’s my light saber.” Seunghoon said, gripping onto his plastic weapon tightly and flushing in the face. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”

“Jesus,” Minhyuk groaned. “Aren’t light sabers supposed to … I don’t know … have light?”

“I ran out of batteries.” Seunghoon said regretfully. “Did you come out because of the noise too, hyung?”

“You heard it too, right?” Jinwoo jumped in. 

“Yeah, we all heard it.” Minhyuk said, rubbing over his head where he had just been apparently hit by a light saber. “Let’s go check downstairs.”

Downstairs was empty, nothing suspicious and there wasn’t any more noise coming out. It was closing to 4 in the morning, and Seunghoon kept bumping into various furniture because he can barely open his eyes so Minhyuk told everyone to go back to sleep, and that they would sort this mess out in the morning. 

He had a pretty good idea, after all, about this mess. 

*

“It’s some sort of wireless speaker.” Minhyuk announces to the guys blinking up hazily at him. An emergency house meeting at 8 AM on a Saturday morning is truly torturing everyone. Minhyuk would have postponed it but there were more meowing cats and phantom ringtones and phantom door bells in the past three hours. There was even a faint evil whisper that caused Eric to almost slip and fall when he was going to the washroom early this morning. 

“I am pretty sure the Alpha Psi dudes dropped it while they were here at the party last week.” Minhyuk continues as realization starts on dawn on the faces of some of the quicker brothers. “We were too busy mopping the mess they made so we didn’t notice.”

“There got to be more than one,” Seungyoon calls, voice surprisingly loud for someone who is still gripping his pillow and trying to bury his face in it. “The cats’ noises were coming from the kitchen but I also heard the ring tones in the living rooms.”

“Spread out and search,” Jaehyo instructs, gently patting the clay mask on his face. “If it’s a speaker, it can’t be that small.” 

Which are, apparently, famous last words, because it takes them more or less an hour to find the first one, which is about the size of a macaroon.

“What the fuck is that?” Jaehyo asks, as Taehyun, who unearthed the unassuming black device from the crack inside the couch, turns the thing around in his palm.

“No idea but I am pretty sure it’s the one making the rackets.” Minhyuk says, pointing at the two little holes with small wires inside, which undoubtedly are speakers. “At least, now we know what they look like so it’s easier to search.”

Again, famous last words, because Alpha Psi went as far to spray paint and decorate the little devices to blend into the background, so it ends up costing them about a good half day before they discover six of the little evil thingamabobs. 

“Do you think this is all of them?” Seungyoon asks, uselessly trying to dust away the cobwebs on his hair – aftermath of having to crawl under the kitchen sink. 

“Probably not,” Minhyuk replies blatantly. Optimism is the last thing they need: it is a lot safer for everyone to be on their toes every second like they are the lone survivors in a zombie outbreak. He’s not even kidding. 

“Let’s take a break.” Jaehyo calls, much to the obvious relief of all the brothers. “Go do whatever you have to do. We’ll continue it tomorrow if there are more noises tonight.”

“There can’t be a lot left,” Minhyuk says as the kids around them scatter away quicker than his eyes can track them. 

“They must have cost a lot,” Jaehyo muses as he opens the fridge and bends down to ruffle through the contents. “Who’s the real winner here if Alpha Psi spend that much money for us?”

“Point,” Minhyuk agrees. His neglected stomach is starting to make noise, but he hasn’t even showered or plucked his eyebrows so he doesn’t feel like going out. “Are you making lunch?”

“Yeah, I thought we have some ramen cups left?” Jaehyo asks as he opens the orange juice carton and shuts the fridge door. 

“In the cupboard.” Minhyuk points towards the overhead cupboards. “Make me one too.”

“Lazy ass,” Jaehyo says and gulps straight down from the carton. 

“Wait. Is that … “ Minhyuk does not get to finish his sentence before the very familiar looking black magnet on the fridge lets out a very loud and sinister laugh, right next to Jaehyo’s ear.

Within what is probably about ten seconds, Jaehyo shrieks and flails, dropping his orange juice carton and subsequently slips on the spilled juice. By the time Minhyuk gathers his wits enough to react, Jaehyo is already on his butt on the ground, rubbing at his head on the spot where it bumps into the fridge during his very undignified fall.

“Motherfucker,” Jaehyo bawls.

“Guess the real winner isn’t you then,” Minhyuk laughs and immediately ducks down to avoid the flying slipper thrown by Jaehyo. 

** Minho **

Minho is thinking about cajoling Jihoon into sharing a burrito bowl with him because the burrito bowls served at their campus are massive and he can never finish them on his own, and Minho feels bad wasting food. 

Jihoon is tying away furiously on his laptop while distractedly sipping at his coffee. Apparently, he forgot to finish an essay that he is supposed to hand in this afternoon even though he had the whole of yesterday free. Unless you count playing Mario Cart with Taeil the whole day as work. 

“Yo, Jihoon,” Minho starts his epic speech on how Jihoon should totally dig out the 3 dollars for that burrito bowl that he would thoroughly enjoy because a. it is burrito in a bowl, and b. sharing food with your friends is supposed to warm up your soul or something.

And then, someone sits down on the free chair next to Minho, and he loses track on what he is going to say. 

It is the guy from the party – the one with rabbit ears and mile long legs that Minho has been having difficulty forgetting. He still looks exactly as tall and cute as Minho remembers, and there is a voice that sounds suspiciously like Jiho’s telling Minho in the back of his mind to stop focusing on the guy’s face. 

Well, tough luck Jiho, because Minho is going to enjoy that face when it is in front of him. 

“Do I know you?” He asks though because he likes annoying the guy. Proverbial pig tails and all that. 

The guy rolls his eyes and gives Minho a look that translates very clearly into a “bitch please”. 

“I don’t remember you without the ears,” Minho grins and gestures above his head. 

The guy gives him a glare and puts something on the table – one of the very adorably evil annoy-a-trons that they planted in the flowerboy house last week. Which means, Kyung wins the bet of how long it would take them to discover those things. Damn it. 

“What is this?” Minho plays dumb, fingers reaching out to grab the little gadget, but the guy is quicker and pulls it out of his reach. 

“Don’t play dumb,” he says and rolls it on his palm. “We found all of it.” 

“Did you enjoy them?” Minho smirks.

“Nice of you to spend a shitload of money on us.” The guy snorts and promptly drops the annoy-a-tron into Minho’s steaming coffee cup. The little gadget lets out a pathetic fizz and sinks down. 

Minho whines a little in regret because while the annoy-a-tron is definitely more valuable, he spent his own money on his coffee and now he has to go and queue the very long line at the coffee stall again. 

“Did you put the rest in hot liquid as well?” Minho asks.

“All I can say is that you can expect a will-it-blend video from us soon.” The guy says, and stands up, apparently finished with whatever he came here to do. 

“That’s all why you are here?” Minho asks. 

“Why else?” The guy retorts. 

“Are you not going to admit that you are hot for my body?” Minho grins, and the guy gives him an impressively condescending look before leaving without a word.

“He wants me,” Minho turns and says to Jihoon. 

“In what delusional world?” Jihoon snorts. 

“You fail as a best friend,” Minho points at Jihoon and says. “Where’s the support, man? Come on.”

“He looks at you like you are the dirt between his toes.”

“Fuck off,” Minho glares. “I am not sharing my burrito bowl with you anymore.”

“You are not sharing your burrito bowl anyway,” Jihoon replies slowly. “You don’t even have a burrito bowl.”

“And if I have one, I won’t be sharing it with you.” Minho says with spite. “And you are not my best friend anymore.”

“That threat would have worked if we are still in middle school, bitch.” Jihoon laughs. “But anyway, here’s my ticket back to the best friend station. Look out of the window.”

Minho turns his head to the large window in the café that he is sitting with his back to, and sees the Nu Sigma guy talking to a smiling Yukwon. 

Oh, yes. Minho has always believed that one day, Jiho’s nauseating relationship with Yukwon is going to be of use to him, and it seems like that day has finally come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: You can buy the very real and very evil annoy-a-trons here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ihvg/


	4. Jiho and Minho

** Jiho **

“I am bored,” Jiho says, looking at his feet extended skyward since he is hanging upside down on Yukwon’s very old and very ratty couch. If it gives in and breaks down right now, Jiho is going to hurt his spine in at least three different places.

“I heard you the first 15 times you said it,” Yukwon replies in a flat tone from where he has been grading his classes’ paper, and subsequently ignoring Jiho for the whole time that Jiho has been at his place

“Stop grading.” Jiho says in a tone that absolutely not a whine – it is more of a manly complaint. “Why are you working too hard?”

“I have to pay rent and buy my food,” Yukwon at least lifts his head to look at him. Jiho grins at him. “My food, which you keep eating.”

“I will be your sugar daddy.” Jiho says. “You just stay at home and look hot.”

“You haven’t even paid me back the money you owe me.” Yukwon glares at him, and shit, yeah, Jiho forgets about that.

“Next paycheck,” Jiho promises. “I’ll pay you back and treat you to a nice dinner.”

“Your paycheck isn’t even enough to pay half of what you owe me.” Yukwon rolls his eyes. 

“Wait. How much do I owe you?” Jiho asks in alarm. Yukwon gives him a very unimpressed look. 

“Whatever,” Jiho says, eager to cut the topic fast before Yukwon pulls out spreadsheets and shit. Because he totally would. “Come on, babe, you can do those papers later. Actually, why do those papers when you can do me instead?”

“Jesus,” Yukwon groans. “Why do I even let you in here?”

“That’s not the only place you let me in,” Jiho laughs and slithers his way down to the floor, poking his toes into Yukwon’s (very nice) thighs in the process. 

“Can you be a little less embarrassing?” Yukwon sighs, but he is also putting away his papers so who’s winning now? 

“I haven’t seen you the whole day yesterday,” Jiho pulls himself off the floor and sits on the couch right behind Yukwon, looping his arms around Yukwon before Yukwon can get up off the floor. 

“Sad for you,” Yukwon snorts but tilts his head up when Jiho leans down to kiss him on the forehead, so score one to Woo Jiho, the best boyfriend in the world. 

“Did you manage to get your phone fixed?” Jiho asks, sneakily trying to smell Yukwon’s hair because even he knows what will come across as creepy instead of endearing. 

“Yeah, at least I still have my warranty. Actually, that reminds me,” Yukwon gets out of his hold, and Jiho whines a little at the loss of contact. 

“Look at this,” Yukwon brings his phone over and pulls up a long-forgotten web page that Jiho has honestly blocked out of his memory out of self-preservation instincts. 

“How the fuck?” Jiho barks, his very traumatic past flashing back right in front of his own two eyes.

“If you don’t want people to see your teenage MySpace profile, you should have deleted it.” Yukwon giggles, scrolling down what is probably the biggest shame of Jiho’s life. Fuck that entire godforsaken website. 

“I forgot my password, and the password to my reset email.” Jiho defends, and lunges forward to grab the phone out of Yukwon’s hand. Yukwon blocks him with his bony elbows and laughs until he is grasping for breaths when he reaches to the photo section. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Jiho needs to learn how to time travel so he can go back 7 years back and strangle his 15 year old self to save them both from this humiliation. 

“Did you really think this hair was cool?” Yukwon is literally rolling on the floor, and Jiho reminds himself that he actually loves this guy and he would probably regret it later if he kills him now. “Oh my god, the caption – _‘we rapping this shit lolz. don’t hate me because i be a gangster and don’t judge me until u know mah story homie. Laters haterz’_."

“Please stop,” Jiho puts his hands over his face and mentally encourages the ground to open and swallow him up. 

“Is this Park Kyung?” Yukwon barks. “Oh my god, where are his eyes?”

“This is karma for every sin I have ever committed and I will commit in future.” Jiho groans and flops sadly onto the couch. 

“Don’t be a whiny brat,” Yukwon, at the very last, closes the browser and crawls his way up to Jiho. “It’s cute. You were cute.”

“Please,” Jiho snorts as Yukwon rests his chin on Jiho’s shoulder. “Even you don’t believe that.”

“No, you were embarrassing as fuck,” Yukwon laughs into his chest and Jiho pushes his head away in annoyance. 

“How did you get my username?” Jiho asks when Yukwon’s laughter finally dies down. 

“I have my ways,” Yukwon smirks.

“There are exactly 4 people you know who also know my MySpace username.” Jiho reminds him. “One of them is me and another is Kyung who would never let those pictures of him see the light of the day. So, who is it? Minho or Jihoon?”

“Ask your prodigal sons yourself.” Yukwon snorts. 

“They will lie,” Jiho says, way too familiar with how those brats work. But, that’s the thing though. They don’t usually go out of their way to embarrass Jiho (Minho would even say Jiho does it enough on his own because he is an ungrateful little goblin), so Jiho does not know what is the reason behind his past suddenly coming to haunt him now.

“I will eat you out,” Jiho abruptly says and Yukwon almost drops his phone. Never let it be said that Woo Jiho does not play dirty. “I promise.”

Yukwon eyes him up and down like he is considering his options. “It’s not like it’s a chore to you though.”

“You know I don’t do it usually. Come on. Twice. I promise I’ll do it twice.”

“Fine,” Yukwon sighs like he is driving a hard bargain, even though he is fully aware that Jiho knows how much Yukwon loves it when Jiho just goes to town on him. “If you insist.”

Jiho flicks him on the forehead. “Tell me, dude.”

“Minho.”

“What the hell.” Jiho mutters. “What does he want?”

“He wanted to know about one of the freshmen in my class.”

“Who?”

“Someone named Lee Seunghoon. He doesn’t say why though.”

What the actual hell. “I am pretty sure there is someone with that name in the flowerboy house,” Jiho says and takes out his phone to double check.

“You have a list of the names of the Nu Sigma kids?” 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Jiho nods absent-mindedly. Of course, he has to have a list. Know thy enemy and all that. “Yeah, he’s here. What the hell does Minho want with a flowerboy?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Yukwon says and gets up, shoving at Jiho’s shoulder. “Don’t you have a promise to keep?”

“Right now?” Jiho raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, right now.” Yukwon rolls his eyes. “Or do you want to wait for Mars and Jupiter to align or something?”

“Right now is good,” Jiho grins and takes the hand that Yukwon is holding out. He will deal with Minho later. He, after all, has a promise to keep. 

** Minho **

His name is Lee Seunghoon and he takes the morning section of the Communication class that Yukwon is TA-ing. Minho is taking the same exact module but in the afternoon because Minho has spent a good few days planning out his courses to make sure that he will never have to set foot into the school before 9 AM.

Lee Seunghoon is probably a disgusting morning person. Which is fine. Nobody can be 100% perfect. 

Minho wanted to write it down in his diary – like “dear diary, today I found out the name of this dude I am kind of crushing on by selling out Jiho hyung. it was amazing.” But then, he checks it against his moral compass - one he likes to call “what would Park Kyung do if he finds out about this” – which, in this case, would be a never ending judgment, so Minho decides not to. 

Instead, he is going to deal with this like the mature adult male that he is supposed to be, probably by stalking Seunghoon on SNS first. 

“Song Minho!” He feels the hit on the back of his head first before he hears the voice, and shit, Minho forgets that Jiho’s classes on Thursday end the same time as his. He should have gone to the library or something.

“Hyung, what’s up?” He grins up at Jiho.

“MySpace of all things?” Jiho grits through his teeth. “Seriously?”

“Ah, that.” Minho drawls sheepishly. Yukwon was being particularly stubborn with information so Minho has to bring out the big guns. “I thought you would have deleted it already.”

“I blocked it out from my memory.” Jiho shrieks. “Seriously, what do you want with Lee Seunghoon?”

“Jesus,” Minho groans. “Does Yukwon hyung not know how to keep a secret?”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Jiho says, unreasonably smug. “Plus, I am very persuasive.” 

“Please don’t elaborate further.” Minho says before Jiho descends into the romantic (read: horny) mode. 

“What do you want with Lee Seunghoon?” Jiho repeats the question, and Minho knows Jiho is not going to drop this.

“He’s from Nu Sigma,” Minho replies, brain scrambling to come up with an excuse. “I was just asking around."

“And that has to involve me?” Jiho grunts. “Also, what can Kwonnie possibly tell you about a flowerboy more than Kyung’s book?”

“Wait. Kyungie hyung’s book has information on the Nu Sigma guys?”

“Yes,” Jiho nods. “Their names, photos, known schedules and associates. Seriously, you still haven’t read it yet?”

No, Minho has been using it as a table balancer for his wobbly study table, but he is not going to tell Jiho about that in case it reaches back to Kyung. Minho prefers his life in uncritical conditions, thanks.

“I am working my way through,” Miho lies vaguely and turns the corner of the street to their house. 

“Is that…?” Jiho starts, staring at the front of the house.

“Did Kyungie hyung finally get kicked out of his own house?” Minho laughs. 

“I’ve been trying for years.” Jiho snorts and skips over to where Kyung is sitting cross-legged on the front porch, leisurely munching on a pizza and watching something on his laptop.

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” Kyung says when he spots Jiho and Minho. “Pizza?”

“What’s going on?” Jiho asks in wide eye terror, as Minho helps himself to a large slice. “Did the flowerboys get back at us?”

“Yeah,” Kyung shrugs. “Kind of weak though. They put salt in our water tank.”

“Man,” Jiho says with feelings. “I told you we should have locked that tank up when the semester starts.”

Kyung glares back at Jiho. “Last time when we locked it up and lost the key when the maintenance came to do check up, was it you or me who got called by the dean’s office?”

“You lost the key,” Jiho points at Kyung, and asserts. “Anyway, it’s just salt, right? Just drain the water or something?”

“That’s fine. One of the new kids is already doing it.”

“So, why are you here then?” Minho asks, mouth finally free after his pizza is half gone. 

“Taeil hyung’s fish.” Kyung says in complete solemnness and Minho almost chokes on a piece of chicken. 

“Fuck,” He swears. “Did they die?”

“No. If they did, I would be in a police station bailing out Taeil hyung for murder right now.”

“I don’t think you can bail someone out for murder.” Jiho jumps in.

“Really? I always thought we could.”

“Focus please,” Minho snaps his fingers. “What about Taeil hyung’s fish?”

“I don’t know,” Kyung says flippantly. “He was saying something about PH imbalance and fish health and how his imported seaweed in the tanks is going to die before he starts frothing at the mouth and goes into full imp rage mode.”

“And you leave the new kids in there with him when he’s being like this?” Jiho raises an eyebrow. “Do you want them to un-pledge?”

“Jihoon’s trying to calm him down. He still thinks pocket-size rage is cute.”

“Jihoonie is a freak,” Jiho comments fondly. “Come on. Let’s go access the damage.”

Minho unwillingly lets himself be pulled into the house along with Kyung, as Jiho takes a hold of the both of them and steadily heads towards Taeil’s room. 

Apparently, Jihoon’s version of calming Taeil down is sitting down on the floor holding about three different containers that look like medicine capsules while Taeil is applying the gel from said containers onto the small fish he is holding in his hand. 

“How’s the fish?” Jiho asks. “Or is it _how are the fish_? I don’t know grammar.”

“They are fine, more or less” Taeil says as he puts the one he is holding in his hand into a nearby tank. “What is not fine is going to be the Nu Sigma dudes after I beat them up one by one.”

“From one vertically challenged dude to another,” Kyung says as he flops down onto Taeil’s bed. “let me say that it might not be easy.”

“I will stab them in the kneecaps, I don’t give a fuck.”

Jihoon turns his head up and makes a sad face at them. 

“There, there,” Jiho pats Taeil on the back uninterestedly, and says. “Anyway, Minho is working on something, right? With one of the new dudes from there?”

“Erm,” Minho starts unsurely as four pairs of eyes focus on him. “Right, yeah. Totally.”

“Make us proud, kid,” Kyung says.

“Sure,” Minho nods. “Actually, Jiho hyung, can you talk to Yukwon hyung? I need him to do something for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Jiho on myspace](http://alittlebitblockbbias.tumblr.com/post/136678102126/zico-on-myspace-bonus) wasn't as humiliating as I made it sound, but it is still pretty amusing and very endearing.


	5. Minho and Yukwon

**Minho**

Ok. This is a mistake. 

No guy is worth having to sit in a classroom at freaking 8 o’clock in the morning. Minho does not even remember how he has managed to get to here from the house because the first clear memory he has this morning is him buying the largest cup of coffee he can find – the coffee which is not doing anything helpful to keep him awake right now.

You know what? Fuck it.

Minho pulls out one of the emergency red bull cans he stashed in his backpack and dumps every last drop of it into his coffee. At least, if he dies now, he will die sugar high. 

“Are you ok?” A slightly concerned voice asks from besides him and Minho jumps a little.

Ok, he might be more out of it than he thought if he doesn’t even notice Seunghoon sitting next to him. 

“How long have you been sitting here?” Minho asks.

“Slightly before you started making gorilla noises.” Seunghoon answers, amused. 

“Morning classes need to be banned.” Minho grunts and takes a sip out of his coffee/energy drink concoction. It tastes as terrible as he expected it to. At least, if all else fails, the horrible taste should keep him awake. 

“You weren’t in this class before,” Seunghoon says, looking as suspicious as he should be. Except he is probably worrying about Minho trying to pull one on Nu Sigma while Minho is trying to actually pull Seunghoon himself. 

“Right, I am from the 2 PM section.” Minho says in the way of explanation. “But I have some schedule conflict things going on, you know, gym and stuff.”

“I have never seen you in the campus gym.” Seunghoon says distrustfully. 

Of course, Seunghoon would be the type to go the gym. 

“Our house gym.” 

Actually, it’s a broken down treadmill that Jiho bought from some shady garage sale and a couple of dumbbells that Taeil uses once in a very rare while, but whatever. 

“Your house has a gym?” Seunghoon asks in, if Minho is not wrong, an impressed tone.

“Yours don’t?” Minho smirks, and Seunghoon glares at him before going back to scribbling something down on his notebook. Minho is thinking about a way to keep the conversation flowing but then the professor walks in with too much enthusiasm for a Monday morning along with a blatantly yawning Yukwon, and Minho loses his train of thought. 

*

The lecture is not any more exciting at a different section. It is, in fact, even worse because Minho cannot keep his eyes open no matter how much he tries, and by the time the professor tells another one of his unwitty dad-jokes for the third time, Minho is half way through drifting off, head swaying on his hands. 

His only saving grace is that Communications is a half module course and runs only for 90 minutes instead of the usual three hours. 

There is supposed to be some assignments or some shits at the end of the lecture but Minho doesn’t bother writing it down. Jihoon is in the afternoon class, so he’ll just check with Jihoon later. 

Seunghoon stands up next to him, stretching his arms above his head, and Minho doesn’t even pretend to hide his blatant appreciation for the lean body next to him. Seunghoon looks down at him as if he can sense Minho’s wandering eyes and gives him a suspicious glint. 

“Can you please stop looking at me like I am going to poison the air you breathe?” Minho says, more of a snort really, at Seunghoon’s doubtful gaze, and Seunghoon, at least, has the decency to blush and keeps his head down to put away his things. 

“How’s your water?” Seunghoon asks, out of the blue, as Minho is contemplating whether to go back to the frat house to catch up on his sleep or to just suffer through his second class. 

“The one you put salt in, you mean?” Minho snorts. “It’s fine. We are fine. The fish almost died, I think, but yeah.”

“You have fish?” Seunghoon asks, eyes wide and unnecessarily concerned from Minho’s point of view.

“Yeah, one of the older brothers at the house has a couple. They are fine though. I think. I mean, he hasn’t killed any of you yet, so.”

“Oh my god,” Seunghoon whispers. “ I am so sorry. I didn’t think anyone else other than you guys would be affected.”

“It’s just fish.” Minho blinks in confusion.

“Fish are still living things.” Seunghoon replies and Minho has a very frightening flash of Seunghoon and Taeil bonding over, he doesn’t know, tuna or some shit. “If they are not sea fish, salt water could be very damaging to their health!”

“Right…” Minho trails off. “So, you are the genius behind this one?”

Seunghoon purses his lips, clearly feeling that he has said too much. “I am not saying anything.”

“Yeah, you are.” Minho laughs. “Anyway, do you ever think why we are doing this? I mean, we don’t even know each other. Why are we acting like we are mortal enemies?”

“Well,” Seunghoon shrugs, easily swinging his backpack onto his very well-defined shoulders. “I don’t know, but you gotta admit, it’s kind of fun.”

“It kind of is,” Minho grins at Seunghoon. “I’ll see you next week?”

“If you can survive yet another morning.” Seunghoon winks at him, and Minho feels a little flustered inside. But then, Seunghoon gives him a wave, complete with a short “Bye Minho” and the flustering feeling inside of Minho explodes, leaving him breathless and wanting to scale up to the top of the building and beats his chest like Tarzan or something.

Seunghoon knows his name. Obviously, it’s only a couple of steps away from them falling madly in love and getting married and dying together.

Minho grins at himself, and puts his things inside his backpack quickly, realizing that he is one of the last few people in the lecture hall, only to turn around and comes face to face with a very dangerously smiling Yukwon. 

“How long have you been here?” Minho asks, side-eyeing the guy. He may be smiling like the sun shines through his perfectly even teeth, but Minho just knows that this, in fact, is a trap.

“So,” Yukwon says, blatantly ignoring Minho’s question. “Seunghoon, huh?”

“What about him?” Minho plays dumb, shouldering his backpack and trying to leave the hall, but Yukwon steps besides him, arm around his shoulder. Minho bends over a little so that Yukwon doesn’t have to strain or hurt himself trying to match Minho’s height. 

“You like him.” Yukwon says, clearly intended as a statement and not a question. 

“I am…” Minho starts but Yukwon shakes his head vigorously.

“You have been around Jiho for too long. You both don’t know how to hide when you are crushing hard on someone.”

Minho would like to call bullshit, but then, he remembers Jiho’s midnight phone calls to him last year, each one getting progressively longer with topics (and occasional freestyle rap verses) ranging from the softness of Yukwon’s hair to the types of curves Yukwon has, and thinks maybe Yukwon, of all people, has a right to say things like these.

“I just think he is kind of cute,” Minho shrugs.

“Minho yah,” Yukwon says patiently. “You change class to a section everyone is desperately trying to ditch. You are way past ‘just thinking’ about the guy.”

Minho sighs. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry,” Yukwon pats him on the shoulder. “I will help you out.”

Minho wriggles his way out of Yukwon’s hold on him. “Why?”

“Why not?” Yukwon shrugs back.

“You know Jiho hyung’s not gonna like this.”

Yukwon rolls his eyes like he is offended that Minho thinks he gives a fuck about what Jiho likes or does not like. “Between you and me,” Yukwon says. “I think angry Jiho is hot as fuck.”

“Nope,” Minho shakes his head vigorously. “ I do not want to know.”

“Angry. Wall. Sex.” Yukwon says, emphasis stressed on each word. 

“Not listening!”

“Anyway,” Yukwon continues. “All these prank wars and shit is kind of dumb, and I love Jiho, I do, but I would gladly piss both him and Jaehyo off for their own stupid pride.”

“I am starting to see why Jiho hyung loves you a lot.” Minho muses.

“I know you probably don’t mean it as one, but I am gonna take it as a compliment.” Yukwon nods solemnly. “Do you want my help or nah?”

“I guess.” Minho shrugs. No harm in trying anyway.

“That’s my boy.” Yukwon grins, and Minho resists trying to tell him that he is, in fact, not Yukwon’s boy and that they haven’t even had a conversation longer than ten minutes other than the one they just had. “I will be the Mercutio to you and Seunghoon’s Romeo-Juliet.”

“All three of them end up dead.” Minho reminds him, but Yukwon is already rounding up a corner to another building, leaving Minho as abruptly as he appeared. “And we are not Romeo and Juliet!”

** Yukwon **

The thing about Jiho is that he is too goddamn predictable. 

For example, he hasn’t called or texted Yukwon for approximately 20 hours, which can only mean one thing.

Yukwon finds him in the shabby little studio downtown, nested among rundown stores and bars, as expected. Yukwon has to knock for a couple of times before the rusty door gives a couple of groans to open up and a blinking Jiho greets him. 

“Did we have a date?” Jiho says when he sees Yukwon standing in the doorway.

“We don’t have dates, Jiho.” Yukwon reminds him and shoulders his way in. “You come and annoy me until I have sex with you and we sometimes eat together. Speaking of, have you eaten?”

“A couple of hours ago, I think.” Jiho scratches his disheveled hair. Right. That means he hasn’t eaten anything for at least six hours, and Jiho has the nerve to say Yukwon works too hard. “Since you are here, come listen to this song I am composing.”

Yukwon grabs at the hand Jiho is holding out, but instead of going towards the computer desk with Jiho, he pulls Jiho in. 

“I will after we eat.” Yukwon lifts the Chinese take-outs he brings with him and says. “How long have been you in here?”

“Last night, I think.” Jiho answers unsurely. “It’s still Wednesday, right?”

Yukwon sighs as he clears out the empty ramen cups on the wobbly table in the corner of the small room. “Yes, it is still Wednesday, but it’s already 9 in the evening. I told you to stop holding yourself up like this.”

“I am sorry,” Jiho says, playing with Yukwon’s fingers in his hand. “You know how I am like when I am writing.”

Yes, Yukwon does, and that is reason sometimes he is worried to hell and back when Jiho disappears into the studio without any sleep or food like this. Jiho might be an annoying little shit but he is also the most determined person Yukwon has ever met and sometimes, Yukwon wonders if that perseverance might end up costing Jiho. 

“Eat,” Yukwon just says, opening the Styrofoam containers and holding a pair of chopsticks out to Jiho. “I called Jess to give you attendance for the Media class you missed this evening.”

“Holy shit. I forgot.” Jiho claims. 

“I know,” Yukwon rolls his eyes and grabs a spring roll with his bare hand. “That’s why I called her.”

Jiho grins at him, bright and stupid. “Love you,” he exclaims, leaning in to peck at Yukwon’s cheek before start digging into the noodles. 

“Only because I have an in with all the TAs at school.” Yukwon snorts, hip checking Jiho so that he can have some space to sit down on the lone small dusty loveseat.

“Duh,” Jiho answers, mouth full of noodles and meat. It should be gross – it is gross – but Yukwon just laughs and accepts the chopstick full of noodles Jiho is feeding him. Yukwon twists open the small water bottle he brought along – feeding coffee or any sugary drink to Jiho at this state is an amateur mistake – and hands it over to Jiho before he starts choking on strings of noodles at the rate he is gobbling them down. 

“Does this count as a date?” Jiho says after roughly swallowing down his gulp of water. “I will take you out for a real date sometimes.”

Yukwon looks up from where he is focusing on separating the noddle strands from the long string beans because eww. “You know I don’t care about that kind of things.” He really does not. He is not particularly into the romantic grand gestures scene, even though Jiho is. He likes what they have here – comfortable and calm. 

Jiho picks at the string beans Yukwon has abandoned and shoves them into his mouth. “I know. I want to.”

“Fine,” Yukwon shrugs. Like he says, he doesn’t really care one way or another. “Eat so I can listen to your song before I have to go.” 

“You really love me,” Jiho smiles at him, the soft small one that makes Yukwon go pliant when Jiho kissed him for the first time – the stark opposite of his aggressive and annoying attempts at getting Yukwon to give him the time of the day. You’d think Yukwon would be immune to Jiho looking at him like this after all this time, but Jiho has always been a strange little thing. 

“Just eat,” Yukwon shoves at Jiho’s shoulder and steals Jiho’s pork ribs when Jiho leans over to sneak a kiss.


	6. Yukwon and Seunghoon

** Yukwon **

Yukwon heads towards the Alpha Psi house on his way back from Jiho’s studio because the timing couldn’t be more perfect even if he tries. Jiho is going to be buried in his studio works for at least tonight no matter how much he promised Yukwon that he’d get some sleep. Best case scenario, he is going to crash on the cold tiles of the studio floor. 

As luck would have it, he finds Minho and Jihoon in the living room, just the two of them shooting a hoard of zombies mercilessly on screen. Yukwon doesn’t really care about anyone else, but Kyung might have been a bit of a trouble to get rid of if he was here. 

“Jiho hyung’s at the studio.” Minho shouts when he spots Yukwon walking in, and gleefully shoots a zombie in the head. “If he asks, I am studying and cannot do recording for the night.”

“I know where Jiho is,” Yukwon says and leans over the back of the sofa the two kids are sitting on. “Come clubbing with me tonight.”

“What?” Jihoon asks, an unwise distraction since his character gets immediately chewed up by the invading zombies.

“For fuck’s sake, Jihoon.” Minho swears. 

“I am asking Minho, but you can come if you want to.” Yukwon says to Jihoon.

“What?” Jihoon repeats, almost at the same time as Minho’s “Why?”

“For the thing I talked to you about the other day.” Yukwon says, not wanting to expand further. Minho can take care of Jihoon himself. “I am not going to ask twice.”

“Fine.” Minho grunts and shuts down the game. “Let me go change first.”

“Just for the record,” Jihoon says, eyes tracking between the two of them. “I am very confused.”

“C’mon.” Minho grabs at Jihoon. “Help me pick an outfit. I’ll tell you.”

Jihoon glances at Yukwon suspiciously but goes with Minho and disappears up the stairs. 

Children. 

*

“Are you sure they are here?” Minho asks, tiptoeing as if he can see through the dark hallway that leads into the inside of the club from where they are queuing. 

“If Jaehyo hyung hasn’t changed his mind within the last four hours, yes.” Yukwon answers and texts Jiho to go the fuck to sleep. 

“I thought Ahn Jaehyo was still mad at you for dating Jiho hyung.” 

“If by mad, you mean he keeps constantly trying to get me to dump Jiho, then yes.” Yukwon says and pockets his phone. Please. Jaehyo loves him too much to mad at him for real. 

“I don’t want you to dump Jiho hyung,” Minho says, a little alarmed, and Yukwon gives him a silent stare.

“If I didn’t dump him after the first three months,” Yukwon says and presents his wrist when the queue finally moves and they reach to the entrance. “I am not going to unless there is a better reason than Ahn Jaehyo.” 

“I think Jiho himself might be a reason,” Minho mutters and while Yukwon might agree with him on the down low, he also needs to show at least some loyalty for his boyfriend, so he just slaps Minho on the biceps and lead him into the club.

“It’s supposed to be one of the brothers’ birthday.” Yukwon shouts over the music as they step into the room full of dancing sweaty people with neon lights flashing frantically over their head and music thumping uncomfortably loudly. God, Yukwon hates clubs. 

“Seunghoon’s?” Minho grabs onto the sleeve of Yukwon’s jacket and asks.

“I don’t know.” Yukwon answers back and tries to find the bar. Minhyuk said they got a couple of tables next to the bar. “You can ask him yourself that.” He points towards the first person he spots – Lee Seunghoon, leaning next to the bar and counting the shot glasses on a tray. 

Minho does not even let him finish his sentence and whooshes into the crowd like his ass is on fire. Yukwon rolls his eyes and makes his way towards the tables next to the bar where, as promised, Jaehyo and Minhyuk are sitting along with a couple of people. 

“Kim Yukwon,” Jaehyo says when Yukwon finally elbows his way to the table. “As I live and breathe.”

“Stop talking like a Bond villain and hand me a beer,” Yukwon snorts and sits down on the small empty space next to Minhyuk. “What’s up?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually come.” Minhyuk says but his eyes are looking frantically through the crowd on the floor. 

“Jiho’s not here with me,” Yukwon says. “Neither is Kyung, don’t worry.” 

“You are dating someone who bleached his brain, Yukwon.” Jaehyo says in a voice that sounds like sadness. “I am not sure if I can trust you.”

“He didn’t bleach his brain,” Yukwon mutters. 

“Is he forcing you to date him? Is he blackmailing you?” Minhyuk asks in complete seriousness. 

“Jesus Christ,” Yukwon rolls his eyes. “Tone down the dramatics. I like him, alright?”

Jaehyo stares at him – very similar to the way he did the one time Yukwon makes a very wrong decision to get a bowl cut. “Did you get brainwashed? Blink twice if you need help, Yukwon.”

Yukwon throws his middle finger up at Jaehyo. 

“If you really like him,” Minhyuk points at him and says. “How do we know you are not here to spy for him? We have to do our party here in case the Alpha Psi tries to fuck us up again.”

“I am friends with you before I started seeing him.” Yukwon mutters. “C’mon, man. I miss you guys. I just want to hang out with you.”

He is not completely lying. Sure, he picked up Minho along the way like an abandoned little puppy, but he is here mainly because he does miss hanging out with Jaehyo and Minhyuk. It has been kind of awkward with Yukwon seeing Jiho and all, because apparently, all of them except for Yukwon tend to think their masculinity is defined by their fraternity. Like some dumbass college kids. Which, granted, they all are.

Anyway, the point is, Yukwon is exhausted having to choose between Jiho and his friends. Maybe Jaehyo and Minhyuk are not the best of the best friends for him, but he still likes the dudes. They are fun, and Minhyuk is a devil when it comes to dancing. Yukwon has even been skipping some of his dance sessions because he knows Minhyuk would try and talk to him about Jiho.

Whatever. He is done avoiding people. He is a grown ass man. He can date who he wants to and be friends with whom he wants to.

“Since you are in a club, which you entirely hate,” Jaehyo says, face getting a little softer. “I will let it go this time.”

“Thanks, man.” Yukwon grins and accepts the beer bottle Jaehyo is handing him over. “So, what’s up?”

**Seunghoon**

Tequila shots in clubs are so unnecessarily expensive. He can get a full bottle with the price he is paying for these 12 shots. But, whatever, it is not like Seunghoon is spending his money. He is just here because he drew the shot straw and had to be the lackey for this round.

He is thinking of ways he can try to carry this heavy-ass tray back to their table without breaking any of the glasses or spilling anything on himself when someone shoves his way next to him. 

“Need a hand?”

Seunghoon sighs, ready to answer the uninvited question with something in the middle of “no, thanks” and “fuck off”. But when he turns around towards whomever the stranger is, he comes face to face with a familiar grin. 

“Are you stalking me?” Seunghoon says to a smiling Minho, and alarm bells in his head start to go off. Last time Minho was around him and alcoholic drinks, it didn’t end well for Seunghoon. 

“I am just here by myself. For a drink,” Minho says, as if he can see the wheels spinning behind Seunghoon’s head. “I promise.”

Seunghoon snorts. “That’s what you said last time.”

“Cross my heart,” Minho says in complete sobriety. “And hope to die.”

“Enjoy your drink then,” Seunghoon says, eager to make his exit before Minho’s possible cavalry arrives. 

“Why don’t you trust me?” Minho blocks his way and asks, and really, what other answer is there to that question other than an are-you-serious-right-now glare. 

“Fair point,” Minho nods, lower lip caught in between teeth. “Let me at least help you carry that thing.”

Seunghoon looks down at the unsteady tray he is balancing in his hand. “You want to carry this to the table where half of my Nu Sigma brothers are sitting?”

Minho scratches his head. “You are making a lot of fair points tonight.”

Seunghoon shakes his head in amusement. “Just enjoy your night, Minho.”

“Come back then.” Minho says and Seunghoon looks at him in surprise. And also puts the tray back down because his hands are starting to ache. 

“What?”

“Come back and have a drink with me.” Minho presses in, staring at him. And Seunghoon is suddenly very glad he puts the tray down because he can feel a little shiver going through his body right now. 

“Why should I?” Seunghoon asks, all too aware of the distance (there is barely any) between him and Minho. 

“For the…” Minho says, pausing for a while, and Seunghoon holds his breath. “Fish.”

The fuck.

“You said you were sorry about the fish at our house the other day,” Minho says, undeterred. “Which means you owe me a drink for the fish.”

“You are a weird one,” Seunghoon comments and picks his tray back. “And the fish didn’t even die.”

“They suffered!” Minho calls after him as Seunghoon rolls his eyes and makes his way through the crowd back to the table. For the fucking fish, really?

“I was about to send a search party after you,” Jaehyo says when Seunghoon makes it to the table (very barely) with most of the shot glasses intact. 

“Sorry,” Seunghoon says and puts down the tray. “The bar is very crowded.”

At least, the bar is out of the direct view from where they are sitting, so Seunghoon hopes nobody catches him on his lie. “Who’s taking the shots?”

A couple of grabby hands reach out in a rush at the question and Seunghoon steps out of the way. 

“Yukwon hyung!” He exclaims when he sees who is sitting in the seat he left. Which means Minho was lying about being here by himself. He fucking knew it!

“Where is your boyfriend?” Seunghoon asks, although he is pretty sure Jaehyo won’t be sitting here, calmly choosing his lime slice for the shot if Woo Jiho is anywhere in the vicinity. 

“Do not speak of his name.” Jaehyo comments.

“Is he Voldemort now?” Yukwon snorts from where he is sitting before turning to face Seunghoon. “He’s not here. No one from Alpha Psi is.”

Seunghoon swears that’s a wink he sees on Yukwon’s face. He can’t tell for sure because Yukwon’s bangs are out of control. He feels like there is something scheme-y going on here, but he can’t put his finger on it. He ignores that feeling – at least for now – because he likes Yukwon. He knows Yukwon first as the friendly TA before he finds out it is the same Kim Yukwon who has been corrupted by Woo Jiho – Jaehyo’s words, not his – and Yukwon looks like a decent enough dude so far. 

“If you say so,” Seunghoon shrugs and grabs the last glass on the tray. Yukwon lifts his half empty beer bottle at him. 

The shot burns through his throat in a way that promises a very bad hangover with possible headache in the morning for him, but Seunghoon bares it and bites down on his lime slice. 

“Let’s go dance,” Seungyoon calls from where he is sitting and wincing through his shot. A couple of brothers nod enthusiastically in agreement. 

“Actually, I am …” Seunghoon starts, not sure why he is doing this. “Gonna go to the washroom for a while.” Of course, no one really cares where he is going or doing so Seunghoon quickly takes his exit, questioning his insanity all the way. 

Minho is still where Seunghoon has left him, broad body in that military parka, facing the bar and nursing a beer bottle in a way that shouldn’t make Seunghoon slightly breathless (but it does).

Seunghoon leans his elbows on the bar counter next to Minho, hoping he looks as cool as he imagines himself to be in his head. 

“One drink.” He says, “For the fish.”

Minho turns and grins at him.


	7. Minho and Seunghoon

** Minho **

Minho wakes up to a blinding headache (not entirely new to him), a mouth that tastes like rotten cotton balls (also not new), and a warm body next to him (this is new – sort of). It takes all of his efforts and more to get his eyes to open and a little more for them to actually focus and see. 

“Seunghoon?” He says, the words coming out of his dried throat roughly in a jumble, and the boy sleeping next to him moves a little, but does not seem to be waking up. 

“Wait.” Minho says as his brain finally finishes rebooting. “Seunghoon?!”

Minho sits up suddenly in shock and immediately wishes he didn’t because the headache that attacks his head is two steps away from actually splitting his head open. He groans, clutching his head in his hands and looks down at himself. He is still fully dressed – sans the jacket and shoes, and so is Seunghoon. So, nothing should have happened. 

He is not sure if he is relieved or disappointed. 

Minho looks around, and yep, this is definitely his room but he is not sure how Seunghoon ended up here, next to him, deep in sleep. Minho crawls out of the bed, internally crying at each step – he is never drinking again – and takes out a cold water bottle from his mini fridge. 

“What the” Minho hears behind him and turns around to see Seunghoon blinking awake and looking around dazedly. He looks entirely adorable, and Minho wishes now more than ever that something did happen last night even if he couldn’t remember it. 

“Morning darling.” he turns to call, voice rough and low. 

“Oh my god,” Seunghoon shouts and sits up. And immediately leans back down to curl up in fetal position. Minho honestly understands. 

“I think I am dying.” Seunghoon groans from where his head is touching his knees as Minho puts down the water bottle in front of him. “No, I am sure I am dying.”

“Tell me about it.” Minho says and stops a little while when nausea hits him again. “Do you remember anything?”

Seunghoon groans in response and holds the water bottle to his cheek. Minho lies down next to him, facing the ceiling and hoping the nausea doesn’t end in puking because he is not sure if he can make the trip to the bathroom. 

“I remember we left for another club because you keep worrying about your brothers.” Minho continues when an answer does not come from Seunghoon. “Everything else is a blur.”

“Do you remember forcing me to drink half a bottle of vodka because quote-unquote it is not fair that you are the only one puking your brains out.” Seunghoon grunts. 

“I,” Minho starts. “do not. Did you really drink half a bottle? How are you still alive?”

“I am not,” Seunghoon grumbles and gets up, wincing all the way up. “I am dead and this is hell. That’s the only explanation of why I am in your room.”

“I am too hangover for a good comeback,” Minho complains, “You must have been more drunk than me if we ended up here and not at yours.”

“Do you think,” Seunghoon asks, sitting at the edge of the bed. “I mean, did we?”

“Fuck like wild bunnies?” Minho grins.

“You are the worst.” Seunghoon rolls his eyes. “Yes, do you remember if we had sex?”

“I don’t think so?” Minho says. “I mean, I am usually useless when I am flat out drunk, which I was last night, so.”

“Thank god,” Seunghoon says and Minho is only a little offended. “I don’t remember anything after you pulled me onto the dance floor, and groped my ass the entire time.”

“Damn.” Minho mumbles. “And I couldn’t even remember.” Seriously, the first chance he got with his first college crush, Minho has to be inebriated like a moron. 

“Maybe I should do it again,” Minho pokes at Seunghoon’s thighs with his toes, and says. “Grope your ass, to give a jolt to my memory.”

Seunghoon throws a pillow at him and stands up, walking towards where his jacket is abandoned. “In your dreams, shithead.”

Well, at least he tried. 

“I think I know how we got here, at least,” Seunghoon says as he picks up his jacket which is very, very damp. Minho lifts his head a little to see that there is even a little puddle of water on the floor where the jacket has been.

“We walked in the rain?” Minho asks, looking out of his window to confirm that, yep, it looks like it rained last night.

“Or run.” Seunghoon snorts and puts on his damp jacket. “Are we in some 80s high school rom-com movie?”

Minho laughs at this, remembering Yukwon called them Romeo and Juliet a few days back. Seunghoon looks at him curiously but Minho just shakes his head – he has a feeling Seunghoon wouldn’t appreciate the comparison. 

“I am going to go,” Seunghoon says, a little awkwardness seeping into him and reaches for the door.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Minho hisses.

“Leaving?” Seunghoon says, perplexed. 

“You are just going to walk to the front door, really?” Minho raises an eyebrow. “Do you forget where you are?”

“Shit.” Seunghoon swears. 

“They’ll skin you alive. And that’s only if you are lucky and Kyungie hyung’s still sleeping.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Seunghoon says through gritted teeth.

“Here,” Minho gets up and opens the window, looking down to see that no one is in the backyard. No one usually is because Jiho’s cats occupying the abandoned pirate ship in the yard are bitey little creatures. 

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Seunghoon hisses. “You want me to climb out of the window!?”

“You have a better idea?” Minho turns and asks. “It’s only like 9 feet. Come on.”

“I will still break something if I slip and fall.” Seunghoon says, leaning his head out of the window.

“I will go down first and catch you,” Minho says and pats Seunghoon on the shoulder. “There is a water pipe, you can slide down from there.”

“I hate you so much right now.” Seunghoon grumbles. “Loathe.”

“Sorry!” Minho says and crosses over to the door, opening it a little to check the hallway. The hallway on this floor is empty but he can hear a couple of people downstairs so there is no way he can sneak Seunghoon out of the house through the front door. 

“I am going now.” He waves to a fuming Seunghoon, and leaves, shutting the door behind him and jumping down the stairs. 

“What’s up?” Taeil asks from where he is sitting on the living room couch and drinking his daily protein shake that is at least the size of Minho’s forearm. “Why are you in a rush?”

“I … dropped something out of my window.” Minho says and runs out of the door before any more question is asked. He can handle anyone except for Jiho and Kyung but then again, Taeil still has to take revenge for his fish. 

Taeil shouts something about wild cats and claws from inside the house, but Minho doesn’t stop to listen and rounds the corner of the house to where his room is. Seunghoon is already half way down, gripping very tightly to the water pipe. Luckily, the room directly below Minho’s is the ruined toilet that no one uses so there is a very high chance that Seunghoon is not spotted. 

“Come on,” Minho urges and holds up his hand to guide Seunghoon down to the ground. If his hand kind of ends up on Seunghoon’s butt, it’s only because he is trying to steady Seunghoon. “I got you.”

“Stop groping me,” Seunghoon wriggles his way out and says. “God, I hate you.”

“Just like an 80’s high school rom-com movie, right?” Minho grins at him. “You can be the handsome quarter back who sneaked in to have his way with the smart and beautiful loner girl who will totally become the sexy prom queen by the end of the movie. That is me, by the way.”

Seunghoon blinks at him. “You have a very strange brain.”

Minho shrugs. He’s been called worse. 

“Come on,” he says and grabs at Seunghoon’s hand. “There’s a gate here.” At least, Seunghoon doesn’t take his hand out from where Minho is holding it, so it is not entirely bad. 

The backyard gate has not been in use for a while so it takes a couple of tries for it to finally be pushed open and Seunghoon can go on his merry way.

“Hey,” Minho says, as Seunghoon looks around to see which way he should be going. “I had fun last night. I mean, I can’t remember, but I assume I had.”

Seunghoon stares at him for a while. “Me too, I guess.”

“Want to do it again?” Minho asks, a little in a rush because he is nervous. He really likes Seunghoon, ok? Yes, he doesn’t know about Seunghoon much except that he is hot and witty and kind of an evil genius, but that’s the whole point of it, isn’t it? To get to know Seunghoon and see if there’s anything for them. “I mean, less drinking and puking and hangovers. And more, you know, dinner and stuff?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Seunghoon asks. He looks amused, Minho thinks. At least, it is not disgusted or annoyed?

“Yes, I guess.” Minho nods. “Go out on a date with me when I am a little more awake and not wearing a shirt that probably has dried puke on it.”

“Charming,” Seunghoon winces. 

“You know what I mean,” Minho rolls his eyes. “So?”

“Fine, I guess.” Seunghoon shrugs and Minho does not do a cartwheel but only because he is too hangover right now to properly celebrate. “I will go on a date with you.”

“I would totally kiss you if I had brushed my teeth.” Minho says, pretty sure his grin is about to split his face.

“Not until the third date,” Seunghoon winks at him and Minho wants to go ahead and just kiss him, stinky mouths be damned. 

“Says the guy who is doing the walk of shame.” Minho smirks and Seunghoon’s face goes from amused to annoyed. 

“It is not a walk of shame!”

“I will see you in class.” Minho laughs and goes back inside, blowing a kiss on his way. Seunghoon just glares at him before turning to leave. 

Fuck yes. He is going on a date with Seunghoon. 

*

He has a group project meeting at 10, so instead of going back to sleep to nurse his hangover, Minho decides to go to the little breakfast place around the corner and drowns himself in coffee and pancakes. Plus, he doesn’t think he can go to sleep after all the excitement in his heart. 

He would go to Jihoon and yell about the good news but Jihoon is sharing a room with Taeil right now so maybe when they are both out of the house. 

Minho grabs his towel and his damp jacket because his other outer-wears are in laundry and it is not that wet anyway. He can just blow dry it for a while.

Jiho is at the sink, working his way through a razor when Minho walks into the room. 

“You back from the studio?” Minho says in greeting and plugs in the blow dryer. “I thought you’d have stayed longer.”

“Kwonnie dropped by this morning and dragged me out.” Jiho says, finishing his shaving and washing his face. Shit, Minho didn’t even say goodbye to Yukwon last night. At least, he thinks he didn’t. “Also, when are you coming into record?”

“Soon,” Minho grumbles. “I am still working on the latest song.”

Jiho grunts but does not comment further. “What happened to your jacket?”

“Caught in the rain last night,” Minho explains and starts drying the sleeves. 

“You can take one of mine if you need.” Jiho says and pats his face dry.

“Thanks, hyung.” Minho smiles at him, “It’s fine though. It’s mostly dry anyway.”

Something jingles in the pocket of the jacket and Minho takes it out, staring a little when a strange set of keys come out.

“Cool keychain,” Jiho says from besides him and before Minho can stop him, grabs the key to take a closer look at the clear crystal keychain. Minho stares at the keys in confusion because those are definitely not his keys. 

“What’s this?” Jiho says, turning over the crystal to the bottom where there are a few engraved words. “HBD Seunghoon. Wait, you lifted Lee Seunghoon’s keys?”

Wait. What.

Minho definitely did not lift Seunghoon’s keys.

Except.

_The wind is blowing and the rain is harsher than it has any right to be, and the world is spinning. Seunghoon is in front of him, sprinting and Minho is trying to catch up but he just puked his brain out and he might as well puke the entirety of his soul if he runs anymore._

_“Dude, stop.” Minho pants, catching up to Seunghoon and putting a hand on his waist. “I am like two more steps away from dropping dead.”_

_“Weakling.” Seunghoon slurs. “We need to get out of the rain. My hair is ugly when it’s wet.”_

_“Your hair is always pretty.” Minho assures, blindly reaching to pet Seunghoon on the head. “You are always pretty.”_

_Seunghoon grins at him and Minho tightens the grip on Seunghoon’s waist, trying to pull him in a little closer. If he just moves his head a little forward, his lips will be right on Seunghoon’s and he doesn’t know why he shouldn’t._

_“My phone,” Seunghoon says and pushes Minho away a little. “Shit. It can’t get wet.”_

_Minho swears under his breath and puts a curse on the entirety of Apple for not making iPhones waterproof as Seunghoon gets distracted by taking out his phone from the pocket of his (very ,very tight) jeans and puts it into the inner pocket of his jacket._

_“Let’s get out of the rain first.” Seunghoon says, not waiting for Minho to respond and runs towards the nearest building._

_Minho sighs and steps forward, but he steps on something cube-y and he looks down to see a set of keys lying on the road, a crystal keychain attached to it. Minho bends to pick it up, promptly forgetting about it when Seunghoon yelps a few meters in front of him because he had slipped on the platform and fallen down._

*

_“I cannot find my keys,” Seunghoon is saying and Minho is too sleepy, the world is spinning and he is spinning in the spinning world and Seunghoon’s voice sounds like it is coming out of a spinning vortex._

_“Come sleep with me,” Minho says, almost walking straight into a lamp post. “I mean, not sleep but sleep, you know.”_

_“Ok,” Seunghoon nods, hands gripping on Minho’s biceps and heads lolling on Minho’s shoulder._

_Minho grunts, and blinks a couple of time. Now, if only he can remember how to get back to his house._

*

“I mean,” Jiho is saying. “They did it first so zero for originality but it is still useful.”

“No,” Minho says, reaching for the keys in Jiho’s hands. “I didn’t.”

“Kyung has been planning something for a while, so this should make it easy.” Jiho grins from ear to ear and pets Minho on the shoulder. “Thanks, Minho. I knew you are doing something with that flower kid.”

“I wasn’t. Wait.” Minho stutters but Jiho is already out of the washroom, yelling down the hall at Kyung to get up because they have work to do.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

 

** Seunghoon **

The sun needs to fucking die if it is just going to keep shining into his eyes like this. His headache gets worse with each step and Seunghoon can swear by all his dogs back in Korea that this is the worst hangover he has ever had in his life. He is seriously considering just lying in the dry grass patches near the library and waiting for death to come at this rate.

But he soldiers on because the library means only two more lampposts until he reaches the Nu Sigma house, and back in his very, very dark and cool room. 

Jaehyo and Minhyuk are doing yoga in the front lawn because of course, why wouldn’t they? Jaehyo is probably going to hurt his knees if he tries to keep his awkward pretzel position for anything more than three seconds but Minhyuk looks like he has achieved ultimate Zen. Seunghoon kind of envies him. 

“Seunghoon,” Jaehyo says, a little too gleefully, getting up from his position. “Looks like you had a banging night.”

He says banging with complete finger arrows and winks that Seunghoon’s nausea starts to get worse. 

“Just met a friend, that’s all.” He says.

“You ditched us!” Jaehyo comes over and puts an arm around Seunghoon’s shoulder, immediately to drop it when he must have undeniably smelt the alcohol and possibly vomit stink from Seunghoon. “Anyway, glad you are having fun. You can tell us all about it later.”

“Not happening.” Seunghoon shouts and heads towards the door. He almost runs into Jinwoo who looks too chipper for 9 o’clock in the morning. Then again, it is Jinwoo. 

“Walk of shame?” Jinwoo smirks at him and Seunghoon lets out a long groan before resting his forehead on the cool glass panel of the door. 

“Why does everyone keep saying it? It’s not a walk of shame if there is no sex.”

“You were out all night, and you didn’t even get some?” Jinwoo, looking genuinely worried. 

“Who doesn’t even get what?” Seungyoon walks up and asks, apparently back from a run because they are all disgusting healthy early risers.

“Nothing and No one,” Seunghoon shouts before Jinwoo can open his mouth. “I am going to bed, and if you talk shit about me behind my back, I will hear and piss in your cereals.”

“Jesus,” Seungyoon mumbles behind him. 

Seunghoon collapses straight onto his bed when he reaches to his room, very much aware of the interested glance Taehyun is giving him from where he is sitting on his own bed. 

“I didn’t do a walk of shame.” Seunghoon calls out before Taehyun can ask.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything.” Taehyun says. Yeah, right. Could have fooled him.

“I am going to sleep for at least twelve hours.” Seunghoon groans into his pillow. “Don’t wake me unless the apocalypse comes early.”

Taehyun snorts, but he also gets up to close the curtains on his side of the room before leaving the room, and closing the room door gently. Seunghoon makes a note to buy Taehyun coffee sometimes because Taehyun is a good kid to his elders. 

His phone pings and Seunghoon groans, reaching into his jacket to take it out – for the sole purpose of turning it off so he can just wallow in his headache peacefully. 

>> _Did you reach home ok?_

The text from Minho says. 

Right. That happened. He exchanged phone numbers with Minho last night. Seunghoon remembers up to that point, although he doesn’t exactly remember why. Minho gave some ridiculous reason which sounded pretty logical when Seunghoon already had about three shots in last night. 

>> _This is Minho, btw._

Another text follows. 

>> _In case you were only pretending to put my # into ur phone last night._

>> _And if this is not Seunghoon’s phone, I am very sorry, but this is all his fault, and I’ll give you his address so you can beat him up.  
_  
Seunghoon snorts and rolls over so that he can free his hands to type.

>> _It’s me. I am fine. Just got back. Abt to crash._

Minho’s response is instantaneous. 

>> _So, you are in ur room?_

>> _Yah. Why?_

>> _How did you get in?_

>> _??? Is this a new form of sext I don’t know abt?_

>> _lol no. Anyway, have a good rest. I’ll see u in class._

Seunghoon is a little confused at the weird turn the texts took, but his headache is getting blindingly worse, so he just turns his phone off and throws a pillow over his head before giving into his exhaustion.


	8. Taehyun and Jihoon

** Taehyun **

“Theoretically speaking,” Taehyun says, staring back at the guy who has been checking him out since he walked into the Starbucks a couple of blocks away from the house. “How bad is it on a moral scale if I were to have a quickie with a guy inside a Starbucks toilet? A guy who probably has a girlfriend?”

“That is … way too specific to be theoretically speaking.” Seunghoon replies, and turns his head to follow Taehyun’s line of sight.

The guy in question catches Seunghoon’s eyes and goes back to listening to whatever his girlfriend is saying, looking a little embarrassed at getting caught. 

“Seriously?” Seunghoon snaps his head back to Taehyun, and asks. “So many guys falling over themselves for you, and you want to go for an obviously attached dude?”

Seunghoon is too detached from reality sometimes. 

“I don’t want to go for anything.” Taehyun replies, and sips on his latte. “He is hot and I am bored.”

“Thanks,” Seunghoon snorts. “Amazing how much you appreciate my company.”

“You have been making nothing but caveman noises for the past ten minutes.” Taehyun reminds him. “Seriously, if you are still hangover, why did you even drag me out here?”

Taehyun could be just chilling and watching Empire right now if Seunghoon didn’t drag him out to Starbucks the minute Taehyun got back from class. 

“Because I really need to eat something,” Seunghoon replies and bites down on his sandwich. “And I am buying you coffee so shut up and drink.” 

“So, what happened last night?” Taehyun asks. “I am pretty sure I saw you sneaked out of the club with some dude.” 

“What part of shut up do you not understand?” Seunghoon glares at him.

“The part where you think I’d actually shut up.” Taehyun laughs. The guy from earlier is leaving with his girlfriend, and Taehyun winks at him, making the guy to stumble into a nearby chair. 

Taehyun smirks to himself. 

“Sly little shit,” Seunghoon mumbles under his breath. 

“Don’t change the subject.” Taehyun points at him and says. “I can’t believe we have roomed for an entire semester and you didn’t tell me you are into guys.”

Seunghoon just shrugs. 

“I mean,” Taehyun presses. “we could have been having so much sex.”

Seunghoon chokes on his coffee. “What the actual fuck.”

Taehyun just smiles at Seunghoon and blows him a kiss.

“Give me back the 4 dollars for the coffee.” Seunghoon grunts. “I regret ever being around you.”

“Is that why you decided to room with me?” Taehyun laughs. Seunghoon is so funny when he gets this uptight. “So that you can sneak a peek?”

“I am moving out tonight,” Seunghoon hisses and gets up off his seat. 

“Move out to where?” Taehyun laughs after him, and follows him out of the shop. Seunghoon just gives him a glower and stomps towards the small lane that shortcuts back to Nu Sigma house.

It is only a couple of minutes later when Taehyun realizes that in trying to get Seunghoon riled up, Taehyun completely forgets to ask more about who was the guy last night with Seunghoon.

He cannot believe he ended up playing himself like that.

“Seunghoon hyung,” Taehyun calls and catches up to Seunghoon, who is going through his pockets. “You never told me…”

“I think I left my keys inside,” Seunghoon turns and says. “Was it me or you who locked the door earlier?”

“I did.” Taehyun says and fishes out his keys from his jeans. “Listen, you didn’t answer my question.”

“Did you even ask one before you start sexually harassing me?” Seunghoon snorts and snatches the keys out of Taehyun’s hand. 

“Yeah, yeah, play dumb,” Taehyun rolls his eyes. “You know I …”

What in the world of ugly fucks?

“What in the world of ugly fucks?” Taehyun blurts out to Seunghoon, who is frozen in front of him. “How did they even?”

Staring at the two of them from inside of their room are numerous identical photos of Park Kyung, wearing a face that is bearing an uncanny resemblance to the troll meme. The HQ glossy photos are stuck onto every free inch of the living room – from the walls to the floor, and even on the coffee table. It is kind of amazing – the amount of effort that must have gone into this.

And Taehyun and Seunghoon have only left for like 45 minutes. 

“They are even on the ceiling.” Seunghoon whispers in half-awe and half-disgust.

“I am scared to go to any other room.” Taehyun admits. He suddenly has a very vivid vision of Park Kyung’s face grinning down at him from the ceiling above his bed, and he shivers at the thought.

“Oh my god!” 

Taehyun turns to see Minhyuk standing behind them, jaw dropped open.

“Welcome to hell.” Taehyun opens his arms and says. “This is our life now.”

“I am going to need bleach for my eyes.” Minhyuk says and tiptoes into the room, leaving sock imprints on the white gloss of the photographs stuck to the floor. “Or holy water. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Taehyun shrugs and follows Minhyuk into the room, taking a petty delight in stepping onto Kyung’s nose on every picture. “We went out for a while and came back to this.”

“You didn’t lock the door?” Minhyuk turns and snaps. 

“No, I did. The front door was still locked when we got back,” Taehyun answers and points to his keys still in the keyhole of the door. “They must have gotten through a window or something. Can we call the campus security if they break in?”

“You better wish the Alpha dudes actually broke in. If someone leaves a window opened, Jaehyo is going to actually murder them.” Minhyuk replies, with too much glee for Taehyun’s liking. “There won’t even be any body left.”

“No,” Seunghoon whispers behind him and Taehyun turns towards him. 

“You said something?” Minhyuk asks. 

“I need to go somewhere,” Seunghoon mumbles and runs off. 

“Where are you going?” Taehyun calls out, but Seunghoon is already halfway out of the front gate. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Who knows?” Minhyuk shrugs. “He probably run away so he doesn’t have to clean up this mess.”

“Erugh,” Taehyun groans. “Do you think we can take everything down before Jaehyo hyung comes back?”

“Doubt it,” Minhyuk says and rips off one photo from the wall. “They are super glued. Look at this. Even the wall paint is coming off.”

“We are going to have to repaint the living room, aren’t we?” Taehyun sighs.

“And the kitchen,” Minhyuk says, from where he just steps into the kitchen. 

“Should we play darts with these photos first before we start taking them off?” Taehyun suggests.

“Why not?” Minhyuk shrugs and takes off his jacket. “Ten points for the nose, and twenty for the teeth?”

*

** Jihoon **

Jihoon really does not want to be doing this, but he is the unfortunate maknae right now since Minho has a group meeting and Jiho does not want to disturb him. Jihoon tried arguing that they are on American soil and Korean age hierarchy shouldn’t be applied here, but Jiho just glared at him into silence. Plus, Jihoon is too used to listening to Jiho anyway.

So, here he is, buying a dozen of nail polish remover bottles at the campus store. 

“To take off the super glue on our hands,” Jihoon says and raises his left hand where his ring finger and pinky finger are stuck together. “Nail polish remover is supposed to help, you know.”

The bored looking girl at the counter seems like she could care less, and wordlessly taps the little blinking monitor where the total cost is blinking in neon green letters. Jihoon shuts his trap and takes out his card to pay. 

When he steps out of the store, he spots Minho ahead. Which is definitely weird since Minho is supposed to be in a group project meeting, the project that he has been moaning about for weeks – loud enough for Jiho to not drag him to Nu Sigma house with the rest of them this evening. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting until 7?” Jihoon asks, elbowing Minho a little from the back. 

“Dude!” Minho jumps a little before turning around. “You scared the shit out of me. No, I was in the meeting. I just came out to meet someone.”

“Who someone?” Jihoon asks, looking at the road where Minho’s long gaze is on. 

“No one you need to -” Minho does not get to finish his sentence as someone pushes him from the back and he stumbles a little. Jihoon turns around to see Lee Seunghoon, glaring pretty intensely at Minho, which is saying something because all the time Jihoon sees Seunghoon around Minho, he is glaring at Minho, but this time, it seems like there is actual anger behind it.

“Seriously, what’s with everyone coming at me from the back today?” Minho mumbles. “Can’t you people use the main road?”

“You asshole,” Seunghoon snarls. 

“What?” Minho asks, dumbfounded. “What did I do?”

Seems like last night clubbing didn’t go as planned. Jihoon didn’t have time the whole day to ask Minho about it, but things are not looking to be in Minho's favour right now.

“Give me back my keys.” Seunghoon says.

“Wait. Those are your keys?” Jihoon blurts out, and Seunghoon snaps his glare from Minho to Jihoon.

“I mean…” Jihoon trails off. “What keys?”

Seunghoon doesn’t seem to hear him as he grabs Jihoon’s hand where his fingers are stuck together and lifts it up for closer inspection. 

“Super-glued?” Seunghoon growls at him. 

“Woodworks class?” Jihoon answers in what is absolutely the least believable tone. He is bad at lying, ok? That’s why he usually just hangs his head and lets Minho do all the talking whenever they are in trouble. Speaking of, he turns his head to look at Minho who is looking ten shades of guilty. 

“You lifted his keys, really?” Jihoon asks. 

When Kyung dragged Jihoon earlier to go to Nu Sigma house with a set of keys to their house, Jihoon didn’t think much of it or where it came from. He didn’t even ask. Plausible deniability and all that. He just thought it’d be handiwork of Kyung or even Jiho. Not Minho.

But the thing is Minho likes Seunghoon, to the point of dating him. At least, he told Jihoon as much. Jihoon can’t find any reason for Minho to do anything directly antagonizing to Seunghoon.

“I didn’t lift them.” Minho says exasperatedly. “I found them after you dropped it out of your pockets last night.”

“And what stopped you from giving them back to me for the whole night and morning that we were together?”

Wait. What?

Jihoon opens his mouth to ask exactly that, but Seunghoon points a finger in his direction and hisses. “Shut it.”

“I didn’t remember!” Minho cries. “Look, I told you this morning, I couldn’t remember anything. Not at first, anyway.”

“You still ended up giving them to your brothers.” Seunghoon snarls. 

“More like robbed.” Minho mumbles. “Jiho hyung saw them, and took them. I didn’t give them to him.”

“Well, you didn’t say no, did you?” Seunghoon snorts. 

“It’s pretty hard to say no to Jiho hyung,” Jihoon says in favour of Minho, but Seunghoon just glowers at him. But really, there are only two people in the world that can say no to Jiho – his mom and brother – and even that works only like 75% of the time, maybe. 

“I really didn’t steal them. I swear,” Minho says, and grabs at Seunghoon’s hand. Seunghoon pulls away quickly.

“I can’t believe you’d stoop this low,” Seunghoon scowls. “Weren’t you the one preaching about how we should think about why we are even engaged in this prank shit?”

“Stoop low like what?” Minho asks, looking genuinely confused. 

“Did you ask me out for shits and giggles too?” Seunghoon snaps. 

“What?” Minho gapes. “Oh god, no. No, I wasn’t with you to steal your keys. I asked you out because I like you.”

“Save it,” Seunghoon snarls. “I should have fucking known from the start. I know Taehyun did it first, flirting with the dude from your house, but at least he didn’t spend the night with him and pretend like he liked him!”

“Did I look like I was pretending last night?” Minho yells. 

“How would I know? I don’t even know you!” Seunghoon yells back. 

A few of the students passing by turn around to look at them. 

“Erm, guys,” Jihoon says unsurely. “Might want to lower your volume a little.”

“Don't worry. I am done here.” Seunghoon snaps. “Done with everything.”

“Seunghoon, wait.” Minho calls, and jogs after Seunghoon who is stomping off the way he came from. 

Jihoon blinks, looking around at his suddenly empty surroundings, and wondering what the hell just happened. 

*

Minho skulks back to the house after dinner time, looking utterly glum and gloomy. Jihoon is helping Taeil with his hands because Taeil got glue all over his palms and for some reasons, his knees. Minho stomps in, runs up the stairs without a single word, and bangs his room door shut rather loudly. Jiho looks up from where he is nursing a celebratory beer with Kyung.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jiho asks. 

“Teenage angst.” Jihoon says in way of answer. 

“He is 22.” Jiho reminds him. 

“Long overdue teenage angst.” Jihoon answers, and leaves Taeil to his troubles. “I’ll go check on him.”

Minho is lying face down on the bed when Jihoon goes into his room. 

“So, it didn’t go well?” Jihoon asks, sitting down next to Minho. “With Seunghoon?”

“He didn’t believe me.” Minho groans. “I mean, why would he? I did give his keys to Jiho hyung. I should have said no.”

Jihoon pets him on the head in attempt of condolence. “We all know how well that one would have gone.”

“You know Jiho hyung’s gonna disown me if he knows I like a flowerboy.”

“No, man.” Jihoon assures. “You are his favorite.”

“He is also the most stubborn bastard in the world.” Minho signs. “But dude, I really like him. Seunghoon, I mean.”

“I know.” Jihoon nods.

“No, you don’t.” Minho says. “He is funny and witty, and just wild enough for me. Jihoon, dude, I think it’s another Michael.”

“Oh no,” Jihoon gapes. Not Michael – Minho’s first serious love from high school who unfortunately was straight as an arrow, and didn’t even bat an eyelash when he broke Minho’s heart. Jihoon did not have a single regret for putting a fake rubber snake into the dude’s locker a day before graduation. 

“Yeah. Funny how I actually had a chance with Seunghoon this time, but I ruined it.” Minho whines and burrows his face into his pillow.

“We’ll fix it.” Jihoon says, gripping on Minho’s shoulder. “I don’t know how, but we’ll fix it.”


	9. Yukwon and Seungyoon

** Yukwon **

Jaehyo dropped him a tray full of brownies this morning.

Yukwon is just glad he patches things up with Jaehyo last week, because there are only a handful of things he misses about hanging with Jaehyo and his brownies are one of them. 

Of course, Yukwon also had to endure Jaehyo’s rant about Park Kyung the whole of the time he was here, but everything has a price. Especially for the kind of brownies that melt on the tongue. 

Someone knocks on the door, and Yukwon frowns a little. Jiho should be in his Calculus class – if that idiot skips his class again, Yukwon is going to ask Professor McMillan to fail Jiho himself. 

Also, Yukwon is going to need to hide his brownies first if it is Jiho (or Kyung because Kyung likes to sometimes just turns up at Yukwon’s apartment and eats his entire week worth of snacks).

But it is someone he totally unexpected when he looks through the peephole. 

“Jihoon?” Yukwon says in surprise and opens the door as the boy on his doorstep smiles slightly at him. “Did something happen?”

“I need to talk to you about something.” Jihoon says, and Yukwon raises an eyebrow before letting him in. 

*

“So, Minho stole Seunghoon’s keys for a prank?” Yukwon asks in disbelief. “That’s kind of a dumbass move.”

“No, he didn’t steal it.” Jihoon says exasperatedly. “He just picked them up and forgot about them until Jiho hyung saw and took them.”

“Why did he even show them to Jiho in the first place?”

“It was an accident,” Jihoon sighs. “We all know Jiho hyung, so we know Minho was pretty much helpless but Seunghoon doesn’t.”

Well, it takes a village to get Jiho to change his mind when it is set on something, so it does make sense. 

“So, Seunghoon is mad at Minho right now?”

“Yeah,” Jihoon nods. “Minho’s been trying to talk to him, but Seunghoon’s having none of it.”

Right. Yukwon does remember Seunghoon coming in late to the morning Communication lecture yesterday and leaving early. And specifically sitting in a seat that is far from the one he was in usually – the one next to Minho’s. 

“And you are telling me this because?” Yukwon asks, still not sure why Jihoon is confiding in him, of all people. 

“You told Minho you’d help him out with Seunghoon, no?” Jihoon asks. 

“I meant I could help them meet sometimes,” Yukwon replies. “I didn’t say I’d do relationship counseling for them.”

“I’d try and talk with Seunghoon myself, but he probably won’t trust anyone from our house,” Jihoon says. “Please, you are like the neutral ground in all this.”

“A neutral ground who is also dating the head of Alpha Psi.” Yukwon reminds him. “Why would you think Seunghoon would trust me any more than one of you?”

“Is there anything you can think might help?” Jihoon sighs. “Minho is sulking. It’s even worse than when we were thirteen and his goldfish died.”

“Sad,” Yukwon says, and sighs when Jihoon lifts his head up and gives him a look that can only be described as “puppy eyes”.

“I’ll try and see what I can do.” Yukwon says, and Jihoon gives him a bright hopeful smile. And fine, Yukwon is man enough to admit. It is pretty damn adorable. 

And that’s how Yukwon ends up cornering Kang Seungyoon with Minho the next day, right after Seungyoon’s Modern Media class that Yukwon is TA-ing has ended. 

He can’t believe he is actually becoming Mercutio. 

** Seungyoon **

“I thought kidnapping for pranks is off-limit.” Seungyoon says, hoping his voice doesn’t actually tremble as much as it sounds to him, and eyes warily at Yukwon and Song Minho.

He was just coming out of his lecture hall before Yukwon grabs him by hand and pulls him back into an empty lab room, not long before Song Minho opens the door and walks in.

And Jaehyo said they could trust Yukwon.

“Nobody is kidnapping anybody,” Yukwon says. “We just want to talk.”

“Talk about what?” Seungyoon asks suspiciously. 

“About Seunghoon.” Minho says, and Seungyoon turns towards him. 

“What about Seunghoon hyung?”

“Long story short,” Yukwon says before Minho can open his mouth. “Minho and Seunghoon went out. Minho picked up Seunghoon’s keys which eventually found their way into Jiho’s hand, and you know the rest. I heard Jaehyo hyung ordered some paints yesterday for your living room.”

“Yeah, I am supposed to pick them up later.” Seungyoon answers. “Wait. What do you mean Seunghoon hyung went out with Minho?”

“Exactly as it sounds.” Minho interrupts. “Seunghoon won’t talk to me now, so I need your help.”

“And I would help you because?” Seungyoon raises his eyebrows. 

Minho blinks like he didn’t think it this far. Seungyoon wants to laugh in his face, but he is still processing the fact that Seunghoon willingly went out with an Alpha Psi. 

“Because it’s a nice thing to do?” Minho tries. “Good karma?”

“Do you really think I am going to betray my house and help Alpha Psi for karma?” Seungyoon snorts. 

“I will give you the midterm questions a week before the exam.” Yukwon shoves at Minho’s shoulder and says. “And two sets of the weekly in-class quizzes.”

You know what. Betrayal doesn’t sound that bad. 

“What do you want me to do?” Seungyoon asks. 

“I just need him to talk to me, so I can explain properly.” Minho says. “He’s not picking my calls.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t believe you.” Seungyoon suggests. “I am pretty surprised he went out with you in the first place.”

Minho sighs. “I really like him, alright? I didn’t have any ulterior motives. Shit just happened.”

Seungyoon feels a little bad for the guy. Plus, Seunghoon has been sulking around the house for the past few days, easy to snap at the smallest thing. Even Taehyun gave up on asking Seunghoon what is wrong. 

Still, Seunghoon is probably one of the most stubborn people Seungyoon has ever met. 

“It’s not like he’s going to believe me over you.” He says to Minho. “Seunghoon hyung is pretty determined once he has an idea in his head. It’s not going to be easy.”

“So, what should I do then?” Minho asks, exasperatedly. “Can you get us locked together in a closet or anything?”

“Nobody is locking anyone in anything.” Yukwon interrupts. “I can’t believe I am suggesting this, but what if it is Jiho who talks to Seunghoon and explains things?”

“Woo Jiho?” Seungyoon raises an eyebrow. The head of Alpha Psi, who according to every account they have heard, loathes their house and will go to the world’s end to destroy them?

“Yes. That Woo Jiho.” Yukwon sighs. “You think Seunghoon would believe him if Jiho talks to him?”

“Well. Maybe.” Seungyoon says. “I mean, we all knew he’s pretty big on this prank war, so if he’s the one explaining things, that’d carry a lot of weight.”

Yukwon nods in agreement, but Minho looks like he is facing his untimely death. 

“Are you sure you can’t just lock me and Seunghoon in a closet?”


	10. Jiho and Seunghoon

** Jiho **

“No. Absolutely not!” Jiho yells. “How can you even ask me this? Actually, let’s go back to the real issue here. What do you mean Minho went out with a flowerboy?”

Jiho cannot believe Minho, of all people, would betray him like this. He wants to date a flowerboy? Out of all the hundreds of available guys on campus? The flowerdudes are not even that hot. 

“It means he likes Seunghoon.” Yukwon replies with a sigh.

Actually, forget Minho. He’s just horny and all too excited for his new campus adventure. And, he is not even here.

Jiho cannot believe Yukwon, of all people, would betray him like this.

“Why are you the one telling me this?” Jiho squints his eyes and asks. 

“That is the question I ask myself every step on the way here.” Yukwon shrugs. “I don’t know? I feel bad? Minho is pretty much into this guy, and your stupid prank war cock-blocked him, so maybe I am just feeling guilty on your behalf.”

“Minho is not into that flowerboy dude.” Jiho points at Yukwon, and asserts. 

Yukwon raises an eyebrow. “You can just ask him. See what he says.”

No, he cannot be.

“This is not happening.” Jiho groans. “My own flesh and blood, betraying me like this.”

“For Minho to be your own flesh and blood,” Yukwon snorts. “You have to put your dick in a vagina 22 years ago.”

“Hyperbole!” Jiho shrieks, and Yukwon lifts his hands up in a peace-out gesture. “I know I am not his dad, but man, I raised that kid, ok? I gave him his first beer. I helped him with his homework.”

“You mean you let him copy your answers, which you copied from Kyung.” Yukwon mutters and Jiho silences him with a glare.

“I showed him his first dick, for fuck’s sake.”

“You what?” Yukwon stares at him.

“No, wait. That came out wrong.” Jiho backtracks quickly. “I mean, I showed him his first porn. It was one of my most prized DVD, ok? I mail-ordered it from Japan.”

“Can we get back on topic here?” Yukwon drags him by the hand and forces him to sit down on the couch next to him. 

“We are on topic!” Jiho argues. “I am just saying I’ve been the best bro to Minho for years, and now the little shit wants to date one of my mortal enemies?”

Ungrateful little fucker.

“They are not your mortal enemies!” Yukwon raises his voice and Jiho’s train of thoughts stops because Yukwon rarely speaks up, let alone yells like Jiho tends to do. He always says Jiho is loud enough for them both. “Can you please, for a second, get your head out of your ass, and realize that there is a world outside of your stupid, childish frat rivalry? So, they put Nair in your shampoo and you saran-wrapped their cars. Big fucking deal. This is not Game of Thrones, and nobody is fighting to death. Nobody fucking cares.”

“You …” Jiho blinks. This is the most aggravated Jiho has ever seen Yukwon, and that includes the one time Jiho accidentally spilled his soup all over Yukwon’s new manga books. “You have a lot of feelings about this.”

“Because it is stupid! Like, I get it. Pranks and jokes are fun, and Kyung is born to be a troll, but I don’t understand why you take it so seriously.” Yukwon states. “I know you are a perfectionist and you see everything as a competition that you must come out on top, but Jiho, this is not one of it.” 

“Ok, just because you take an Intro to Psychology course in your first year,” Jiho retorts. “You can’t just go ahead and psychoanalyze me. There is no competition here. I am just doing it for fun.”

Yukwon gives him a bitch face. “You spent 200 dollars to buy those annoy-a-trons.”

“That’s the house fund.” Jiho defends. “Not my own money.”

“Yes, because that makes it better.” Yukwon snorts. “Jiho, you said it yourself. You love Minho. Why can’t you just help him out? Dude just wants some boy to like him.”

“I just don’t understand.” Jiho sighs out loud and flops onto the back of the couch. “Why them? I mean, I know Minho always likes a pretty face, but there are plenty of those on this campus.”

“Sometimes, you just like who you like despite whatever. I’d know.”

Jiho gives him a side-eye glare at the indirect insult. He is a great catch compared to anyone in the flowerboy house, ok?

“Think about it this way.” Yukwon turns so he is facing Jiho fully, and says. “If I am in the Nu Sigma frat, would you stop liking me?”

“That’s a useless question because you wouldn’t.” Jiho says. “You are too good, too pure for them.”

“Not really,” Yukwon shrugs. “I was supposed to join them.”

Wait. What?

“You are kidding me.” Jiho says. 

Yukwon shrugs. “When I first came in, I wanted to join a frat and Jaehyo asked me to join them at the initiation.”

“But you said no.” Jiho says, hopeful.

“I said yes.” Yukwon continues on breaking Jiho’s heart. “I was going to move in and all, but a couple of days after the semester started, my brother got into an accident at work.”

“Wait, I know this.” Jiho says. “You told me that’s why you were late coming in. You missed a couple of weeks, right?”

“3.” Yukwon sighs. “There was a lot going on back then. Money, obviously, was the biggest. We spent all our savings on the medical bills so I don’t even have what I need for textbooks, and we weren’t sure if I can afford the upcoming semesters.”

“Kwonnie,” Jiho grabs at Yukwon’s hand. He sometimes talks about his brother and the accident, mostly in passing, but Jiho is not aware that it was to this extent. This was about a couple of months before Jiho even met him on campus. “I didn’t know.”

“You don’t need to. Anyway, things got a little better with Yushin and I came back, but I have to take a couple of odd jobs to barely survive. So, I didn’t have time to join any frat. I mean, Jaehyo said I can just come and join them whenever I want to, but I had so much going on and then, I just never ended up joining.”

“Thank god,” Jiho whispers and Yukwon glares at him. 

“The point, Jiho, is,” he starts. “Imagine I did end up joining them. Imagine me as a flowerboy. Actually, I am pretty sure Jaehyo would gladly take me in if I ask him now.”

“Do that and die.” Jiho warns him. 

“Are you going to love me any less?” Yukwon asks. “And if you are thinking about saying yes, the door is right over there.”

“Of course, I won’t.” Jiho answers, offended. “I mean, I would be begging at your feet to leave that house, but you know I would still love you. And yes, I know what you are trying to say, but I am still trying to come to terms with it.”

Yukwon just gives him a heavy look.

Jiho sighs.

“Fine. I’ll think about it.”

“Jihoon told me Minho’s pretty depressed these days.” Yukwon says. “You can’t tell me you don’t notice that.”

Jiho did. Minho refuses to tell him what he is sulking over for, which is unusual but understandable in hindsight. He knows Jiho would throw a shitfest, and to be honest, Jiho feels a little bad about it. 

“I can’t believe you are conspiring with my dongsaengs behind my back.” Jiho tells Yukwon instead. He’d sort things out with Minho, but he is a tiny bit miffed that they went to Yukwon for help. 

It’s not like Yukwon has that much of a hold over Jiho. He does not!

“I am Mercutio apparently.” Yukwon says, apparently satisfied at Jiho’s tentative promise, and turns to pick up the remote control. “ _A plague o' both your houses_ ”

“What?” Jiho blinks. “What houses? What plague?”

Yukwon turns and looks at him in disbelief. “You uncultured swine.” 

Jiho scratches his head. “No, seriously. What?”

*

** Seunghoon **

 

Seungyoon is acting weird. Seunghoon always thought Seungyoon is one of the normal ones in the house along with Jinwoo, but he has been pretty odd these days.

Like this morning, Seunghoon was just eating his cold cereals in the kitchen and minding his own business, but Seungyoon came in, pat Seunghoon on the head, and said in a grave tone. “Love is hard, isn’t it, hyung?”

Before Seunghoon can even ask a dumbfounded “what”, Taehyun who was trying his best to make an omelet, turned and hollered, “No, it’s just your dick.” 

And then, they launched into some bizarre elementary school playground fight, and Seunghoon escaped with his cereals to the porch where Minhyuk was doing a headstand as morning exercise.

Seriously, what is wrong with everyone in this house?

Seungyoon even yelled a “Fighting, hyung!” from inside the house when Seunghoon finally left for class. 

And, that’s why Seunghoon turns him down when Seungyoon texts him to eat lunch with him. He is just going to get a quick lunch because he has things to do. Things like avoiding Minho who is suddenly popping up everywhere Seunghoon turns, and if Seunghoon is not sure that it’s just a coincidence half of those times, he’d have accused Minho of stalking him. 

Not that Minho has completely stopped trying to talk to him. Seunghoon hasn’t gone so far as to block him, but that’s only because even Seunghoon knows that it’d be too much of a drama queen move. 

The problem is not of Seunghoon not being able to believe Minho genuinely likes him. It is how much Seunghoon wants to believe Minho, and just to tell him everything is ok, and to go on dumb dates with him. 

But Seunghoon falls hard when he does, and if there is a slightest chance that Minho turns out to be the prime example of evil that Seunghoon is accusing him to be, Seunghoon does not think he can deal with the fallout.

Basically, he is being a coward. He is self-aware enough to admit it, but not enough to tell himself that he is being ridiculous. 

But he is. Being ridiculous, that is.

He just spotted Minho eating lunch in the cafeteria, so Seunghoon just got a sandwich from the convenience store and decided to eat it on one of the always cold metal tables outside on the campus, like the huge loser that he is. 

He can always calls Seungyoon back for lunch, but he does not feel like dealing with the kid right now. He just wants to wallow in his self-made misery. 

Someone came up and stood in front the seat across from him, and Seunghoon sighs, wondering how on earth Seungyoon even found him.

Wait. That’s not Seungyoon.

Huh. How come he never realizes how much Seungyoon looks like Woo Jiho?

“Erm.” Seunghoon swallows the piece of bread he was chewing into his already dry throat. Damn it. He should have gotten a soda as well. “Can I help you?”

“You know, I can kind of see the appeal.” Someone behind Woo Jiho says and then Seunghoon is coming face to face with a very familiar face from the tens of photos Seunghoon has to spent last weekend taking down from the walls of their house. 

There could only be one reason why both Woo Jiho and Park Kyung are coming up to him like this.

“Is this an ambush?” Seunghoon asks, wondering how difficult it’d be to sneakily dial for cavalry under the table. Looks easy enough in spy movies. 

“You wouldn’t even see us coming if it was an ambush.” Woo Jiho snorts and sits down on the seat like he owns it. “I want to talk to you about something.”

“What?” Seunghoon asks suspiciously.

“Minho.” Woo Jiho looks straight at him. “I heard you two went out.”

Well, that was unexpected.

“Look,” Seunghoon says. “Whatever he said to you, I only went out with him because he asked me to, and then he lifted my fucking keys and I had to spend four hours taking off photos of this guy’s face so …”

Park Kyung grins at him, and Seunghoon almost has a PTSD flashback. “Kind of genius, isn’t it?”

“Go stroke your ego later,” Woo Jiho cuts in. “I am,” he starts, and distorts his face like he is taking some exceptionally bitter pills. “He didn’t lift your keys. He said he just picked them up, and I took it from him. And he looked pretty confused when I did – which I assumed was the hangover, so, take that as you will.”

“Wait,” Seunghoon blinks. “Are you … are you apologizing to me?” Really? Woo Jiho, the alpha president of the Alpha Psi house?

“Which part of my sentence sounds like a damn apology to you?” Woo Jiho barks, rather loudly. Even a couple of people passing by turn around to look at them. “I am just relaying what happened to you because apparently, Minho is .. whatever.”

“Right. He is … whatever.” Seunghoon repeats. “Thanks, I guess?” 

“How are your grades?” Park Kyung asks suddenly, and both Seunghoon and Woo Jiho turn to frown at him. “Do you have any criminal record?”

“Erm, they are fine? And I do not.” Seunghoon answers, not sure why he even is answering. 

“What about relationships? How many times have you dumped someone? Or has been dumped?” Park Kyung presses on.

“What in the wide world of fuck are you doing?” Woo Jiho asks.

“Are you vetting me right now?” Seunghoon squints his eyes.

“I have to make sure you are right for Minho!” Park Kyung says firmly. “I love that kid, but he’s like Kronk from Emperor’s New Groove – all hulking body and no real common sense. Also speaking of, what’s your favorite Disney movie? And this is an important question, so take time before you answer.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Woo Jiho swears next to him. “I can’t take you anywhere. Come on.”

“Look,” Park Kyung pays no attention to Woo Jiho tugging at him, and says, staring wide at Seunghoon. Seunghoon wants to cower a little. “I know I am like half the length of your body but have you ever seen a 167 cm ball of rage that can lift twice his weight? Because I have. His name is Lee Taeil and I will set him on you if you ever hurt Minho.”

“Are you seriously threatening him using Taeil hyung right now?” Woo Jiho asks exasperatedly. 

“It’s not like I pose enough threat to anyone. My face looks too nice for that.” Park Kyung turns and says. “And stop tugging at my shirt, fucker.”

“I am just ..” Seunghoon hooks a thumb over his shoulder and picks up his bag as quickly as he could. “… gonna go.”

“Wait. Take a photo with me first.” Woo Jiho suddenly lets go of Park Kyung and almost jump over the table to get to Seunghoon.

“No. Why?” Seunghoon asks, stepping back a little and grasping at the strap of his backpack.

“Just do it man.” Woo Jiho hisses and then, there is suddenly a phone in front of Seunghoon’s face and a hand of Seunghoon’s shoulder, and he is taking a selfie with Woo Jiho.

What. 

“Are you going to post it on some stupid website or something?” Seunghoon asks dumbly.

“Why would I ever let anyone see a photo of me and a flowerboy together?” Woo Jiho snorts like he is not the one who just strong-armed Seunghoon into a selfie with him. “Are you crazy?”

“It’s proof.” Park Kyung pipes in. “His boyfriend asked him to talk to you and Jiho is pussy-whipped even though Yukwon doesn't even have a pu..”

“I am going to rip off your arm and shove it up your ass.” Woo Jiho hisses and Seunghoon takes his opening, ducking out of the warzone before he ends up being the casualty. 

Man, is the frat president-vice president relationship of every house in this campus always this weird love-hate hostile conundrum? And he thought Jaehyo and Minhyuk were bad enough. 

His phone dings and Seunghoon takes it out of his pocket to see that Minho has sent him yet another text. Over the last few days, he has resorted to just sending Seunghoon memes for whatever reason.

And, fine, Seunghoon might have saved a couple of those because some of them are really funny. Although Taehyun didn’t look as amused when Seunghoon showed them to him – which is as expected, Seunghoon guesses. Taehyun probably surgically removed the part of his brain that can recognize humor that does not involve insults and other people’s misery.

Seunghoon weighs his phone in his hand, wondering if he should reply. And if he does, what does he even say? 

_“Hey, I just had this weird talk with the president of your house who I sure hated my guts before today. He also forced me to take a picture with him and I am not even sure if I dreamed it up. Also, is it weird if I say I miss you because I have no reason to.” ?_

Seunghoon signs and just locks his phone instead. Like his mom always says, especially when she doesn’t want to do something, “small steps first”.

Maybe Seunghoon will start by sitting next to Minho again in his next Communication class.


	11. Minho and Yukwon

** Minho **

“Minho, are you in or not?” Jihoon asks, staring at him across the table.

Minho chews on his pizza crust which tastes like burnt paper. “In for what?”

Jihoon gives him an I-am-disappointed-in-you look. “Paintball, dude. Were you not listening to us?”

“Not really.” Minho shrugs. Hyuntae, who always had less patience than Jihoon, kicks him under the table.

“What’s up with you?” Hyuntae grunts. “I travelled across town to visit you and you look like you’d rather die.”

“You travelled across town because the girls on our campus are hotter.” Minho snorts and kicks Hyuntae back. “And sorry, alright? I am just not in the mood.”

“Boy problems.” Jihoon says sagely and Minho kicks him too just because. 

“Spill,” Hyuntae turns to Jihoon with unhidden gleeful nosiness and Minho rolls his eyes. Pair of gossip queens. 

He is just going to send Seunghoon another of his quality jokes (that he downloaded from twitter while trolling through it at 4 am last night). He remembers Seunghoon has a Batman pin on his backpack. Minho wonders if Seunghoon would respond to him if he says Marvel is better than DC.

He reeks so much of desperation he can practically sense his dignity shrinking away like a dried prune.

He has a text from Jiho – which reminds him that he actually might have a shot talking to Jiho, but you know, Minho would rather just set fire to his nose hair, so. It is over a decade of classical conditioning - he is not fond of the idea of confronting Jiho, and by _not fond_ , he means _scared shitless_. Yukwon said he can help talk to Jiho, but it has been quiet on that front so Minho doesn’t know what is his next move. 

He opens the text from Jiho nonetheless, it’s probably another one of those threatening him to drop by at the studio to finish the song they are working on. Minho can ignore them until Jiho gets mad enough to drag him by the ears to the studio.

Jiho sent him a picture. Of him and Seunghoon. Accompanied by two middle finger emojis. 

Minho blinks. Then rub his eyes. And blinks again. 

What the fuck.

“Do these brownies have weed?” Minho asks, holding up his phone with one hand and poking at the brownies he ordered from the campus café earlier with the other hand. “Am I high?”

“Is that Jiho hyung and … Seunghoon?” Jihoon asks, squinting at the phone screen. “Did he… did Jiho hyung kidnap him? Is that a ransom note for you?”

“Oh god, oh god,” Minho mutters. When did Jiho even. “He found out. Shit.”

“Where are you going?” Jihoon asks as Minho grabs his backpack and jumps over his seat. Minho gives a mumbled reply back and a vague wave to Hyuntae. He can apologize to Hyuntae later. All it’ll take is three beers and some chicken wings. 

Right now though, he doesn’t know what Jiho said to Seunghoon. Jiho can be ruthless as fuck when he wants to be, and Seunghoon doesn’t exactly look ... pleased in the photo. Shit. Minho does not know how Jiho found out – maybe Yukwon did talk to him – but it can’t be good. 

He knows Seunghoon has a class at 2 in the Social Science Wing. (It is not stalking if he never actually does the act of stalking, ok? Knowledge is power, that’s all) He can probably catch Seunghoon before his class, and try to apologize again for – whatever damage Jiho has done. 

He sees Seunghoon ahead of him walking up the hallway and thank god because Minho is about two seconds away from death from all the sprinting he does on the way over here. He bumps into a few students before finally catching up to Seunghoon and grabs him by the elbow. 

And then promptly leans himself on the wall and tries to catch his breath before he keels over. 

Seunghoon looks a little shocked and a lot confused.

“Minho?” He asks, bending down his head to look at Minho. Minho would say hi but he is too busy stopping his lungs from jumping out of his chest. “You alright? Do you need like an inhaler or something?”

“Iamfine.” Minho grunts and tries to look at least a little dignified. “Did you, I mean, did Jiho hyung do anything to you?”

“Apart from weird-ing me out, not much.” Seunghoon says, brows furrowed and Minho lets out a relieved sigh. 

“What does he want? God, I am so sorry.” Minho says. “I didn’t know he knew, you know, about us. I don’t even know he was going to talk to you. He just talked to you, right?”

“There were some vague threats,” Seunghoon says, wrinkling his nose. “I think. I don’t know. It was too surreal.”

“Threats about what?” Minho blinks. 

“Stuff,” Seunghoon answers informatively. “Why don’t you just ask him what he talked to me about?”

“I’ll do that later,” Minho waves his hand. “I just .. I don’t know. I just want to make sure you are not going to be mad at me than you are right now.”

Seunghoon purses his lips like he is thinking of something to respond. 

“Listen,” Minho sighs. He is tired of this. Tired of guessing and waiting and just doing nothing. “I know you are mad at me, and I have tried explaining and apologizing, and I don’t know what else to do. I am not good at this, ok? This relationship thing.”

“Relationship?” Seunghoon raises an eyebrow. 

“The I-asked-you-out thing,” Minho corrects. “You know what I mean. The point is I don’t know what I can do anymore, so you have to tell me. Even the memes aren’t working.”

“Did you honestly expect them to work?” Seunghoon asks.

“I don’t know.” Minho shrugs. “A little?”

“And if I tell you there is nothing you can’t do?” Seunghoon asks – voice casually challenging. 

Truthfully, Minho hasn’t thought about that. That maybe Seunghoon isn’t just interested in him, and wants nothing to do with him. Call him overly optimistic but it never comes across his mind as a possibility. 

Well.

“Then, I guess it is what it is.” Minho says after a few beats. “Look, I am not going to chase after you and just keep annoying you if you don’t want me around. I’d like to think I am not that clingy or creepy, but –”

“But what?” Seunghoon asks as Minho pauses mid-sentence. 

“I really, really thought it’s not just me. There was something, right? Me and You. Maybe I imagined everything, but there was a me-and-you among all the snarks and shits.” 

Seunghoon twists his finger in the strap of his backpack, and Minho lets out a sigh. He is no stranger to heartbreak, so he feels like he should know how to prepare for whatever onslaught of sting that may come. 

He is not sure if he’ll ever be ready though. 

“So, that’s all of my cards on the table, I guess.” He says out loud. “I really like you and I am really sorry about what happened, but I was never faking anything about us, not even for a second.” 

Seunghoon looks down at his hand. “My class starts in 5, and I really can’t miss it.” 

“Alright,” Minho nods. Defeat is not unexpected, but the taste of it is still bitter.

“But I am free for the evening if …” Seunghoon continues. “If you were serious about that date.” 

Emotional whiplashes are not fun. 

“What?” Minho gapes. “Did you say just say date? Like a date _date_? You are not mad at me anymore?”

“I was not mad at you,” Seunghoon looks down at his shoes. “Well, actually, I was kind of angry for the first few days, but mostly, I was just disappointed, I guess. I really like the fact that you like me.”

It is not quite an I-like-you-too, but Minho will take it. 

But because sometimes, his mouth spills before his brain can put a filter on it, Minho asks. “So, that’s it? I just needed to ask you to tell me what you want me to do instead of sending you twitter memes?”

“Nobody asks you to send me twitter memes.” Seunghoon rolls his eyes. “Plus, the fact that Woo Jiho actually tries to explain things to me helps, I mean, that’s what I think he did at least. Tries to explain.”

“He what?” Minho raises his eyebrows. The shock just doesn’t stop coming, does it? “He apologized to you?”

“No, he didn’t. He made sure I know he didn’t.” Seunghoon shrugs. “I really need to go to class.” 

“Right, right.” Minho shakes his head. “Yeah. Erm. Date. You want me to pick you up at your place?”

“You have a death wish?” Seunghoon snorts. “Just give me a call and I’ll meet you somewhere.”

“Ok, yeah. Sure.” Minho nods hard. “I will call you.”

Seunghoon gives him a smile before jogging into a classroom on their left. A bona fide smile that looks half pleased and half flirty, and Minho is about to jump out of his fucking skin. He has been covering all ends of his emotional spectrum in the past few minutes – his nerves are practically vibrating, and he can feel his heart beating wildly inside his chest, and his brain feels too over-processed like he just had an overnight cram session. 

Holy shit. 

*

He runs back to the house because for one, he needs to get changed, and for two, his celebratory dance moves are not meant for the public. It’s a waste Jihoon is in class because Minho cannot scream his happiness to his face. It didn’t stop him from sending Jihoon strings of texts though – texts mostly consisting of keyboard smashes and heart-eyed emojis. 

Jiho is sprawled on the living room couch when Minho crashes in through the front door, and Minho wastes no time in crossing the room and giving him a crushing hug. 

“Let go of me,” Jiho grunts and pushes Minho off. “You are doing this week and next week’s laundry.” 

Minho grins at him. “Did Yukwon hyung talk to you?” 

“Yes,” Jiho mumbles reluctantly. “We need to have a talk about how you are conspiring with my boyfriend.”

“Yukwon hyung is the best thing to happen to me, I mean, you.” Minho says seriously. “Please never break up with him. If you do, he’s getting custody of me.” 

“Don’t be an idiot,” Jiho smacks him in the head and snorts. “And stop grinning like one too. Are you that happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Minho laughs and lies down on Jiho’s thighs. Jiho grumbles but does not push him off. “I am going on a date.” 

“With Seunghoon?” Jiho asks. 

“No. With Ahn Jaehyo” Minho snarks, and Jiho gives him a bitch face. “But seriously hyung, thank you, for talking to him. I know you probably don’t like us dating, but I really like him.” 

“Whatever,” Jiho mumbles. “If you like him, that’s good enough for me.” 

“That’s a lie, and everyone that has ever met you knows that’s a lie.” Minho rolls his eyes. 

“Fine, fucker.” Jiho raises his hands and grumbles. “I don’t like it, but what can I do? It’s not like I can marry you off to whomever I approve of. A flowerboy, of all people.” 

“You know,” Minho bites his lower lip and says. “If you never dragged me to that party at the Nu Sigma house to plant the annoy-a-trons, I might never have met Seunghoon.”

Jiho looks down at him in horror.

“So, actually,” Minho laughs. “It’s on you. You are the cupid who brought us together.” 

“Get off me,” Jiho huffs and tries to push Minho off, but Minho just puts his head back on and laughs. 

“No, but I need one more thing. Which is a good place to date around here?” 

“How would I know?” Jiho grunts.

“You’ve been in a relationship for months.” Minho reminds him. 

“We either hang out here or at Kwonnie’s.” Jiho mumbles, and if Minho is not wrong, that is a flash of guilt on his face. “We didn’t really date and shit.” 

“Maybe we can double date?” Minho suggests, and immediately shuts his mouth when Jiho glares down at him. 

“There’s a Mexican place two streets over from campus. Cheap food, good margaritas and private enough booths.” A voice says from above him and Minho shrieks before Kyung comes into his sightline.

“How long have you been here?” Minho pants. “For fuck’s sake. Make some noise or something.” 

“Not my fault your eyes are too full of hearts to be aware of your surroundings right now,” Kyung snorts and leans down to flick at Minho’s forehead. Minho slaps at his hand in annoyance, but also takes out his phone to text Seunghoon and ask if he likes Mexican.

*

** Yukwon **

Yukwon gets about three texts from Minho consisting entirely of emojis and a voice message that he does not need to listen to.

Guess it pretty much means Minho is back together with Seunghoon. 

Good. Maybe all of them will leave him alone now. 

He should have never volunteered in the first place to help Minho out, but Yukwon just thought it is poetic justice that Jiho’s favorite kid falls for one of Jiho’s least favorite people. And apparently, conspiring against your boyfriend is bad karma because now, Minho seems to think Yukwon is some kind of love guru. 

He has mountains of quiz papers to grade because the professors he work for are dicks who only grade exams, and delegate all the quiz grading to him, and he keeps getting distracted by a love life that isn’t even his own to do his work. 

He turns his phone on mute and lets out a loud sigh before taking the first sheet in his file and skimming through it. At least, it is only multiple choices so it’s robotic work. All dull and no real effort. 

Someone bangs their fist on his table, inches away from his cup of coffee, and Yukwon scrambles to make sure he doesn’t spill coffee all over the answer sheets before glaring up at the perpetrator. 

“Jaehyo hyung. What the hell.” Yukwon says, with genuine surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“You low-life, good-for-nothing traitor.” Jaehyo hisses through his teeth, and Yukwon blinks at the unexpected storm of insults. 

“Are you mistaking me for Jiho or something?”

Jaehyo picks up one of the mini scones from Yukwon’s plate before Yukwon can protest, and shoves it into his mouth angrily. 

“You got Seunghoon and some delinquent from Alpha Psi house together?” Jaehyo accuses, crumbs flying out of his mouth. “I trusted you.”

For the sake of holy god in heaven. This is why you should have just minded your own business, Kim Yukwon. 

“I didn’t get anyone together.” Yukwon says exasperatedly. “Do I look like a freaking match making service?”

“You get involved enough to bribe one of my kids with quiz questions to help you out.” Jaehyo grunts. 

“Seungyoon talked?” Yukwon asks. Should have known that kid would blabber. “Listen man, it’s not like I didn’t do anything Seunghoon doesn’t want to. If he doesn’t like the dude already, do you think anything I do would make a difference?” 

“You still greased the wheels.” Jaehyo says angrily. “Is that a systematic attack from their side? Seducing my kids one by one?”

“I was never your kid,” Yukwon reminds him. 

“You might as well have been.” Jaehyo grunts. 

“Well, take revenge, and go seduce, I don’t know, Park Kyung or someone from their side.” Yukwon says, and Jaehyo gives a look full of pure disgust. Yukwon wants to laugh, but he doesn’t in case it sets Jaehyo off even more. 

“You are a little shit, you know that.” Jaehyo says, and Yukwon shrugs. “Who is this kid then? The one seeing Seunghoon.”

“No, I am not getting involved anymore.” Yukwon says determinedly. “Go sort it out on your own.” 

Jaehyo glares at him for a few seconds before picking up the last scone from his plate. Yukwon sighs internally. 

“You do not deserve any baked goods.” Jaehyo mumbles. “Forget any more from me in the future.”

“Aww, man, c’mon.” Yukwon whines. “Even the fudge brownies?”

“Especially the fudge brownies.” Jaehyo points at him, and says. “Actually, I’ll make them and bring them to you and when you are salivating from the smell, I will throw them down the garbage chute.”

“You are a monster.” Yukwon glares at him. 

Jaehyo just gives him an I-am-watching-you gesture before leaving, and also taking Yukwon’s coffee with him. 

Yukwon just puts his head in his hands and sighs. He should have just listened to his mom and go to community college. He would have graduated by now, and he would never be in this kind of immature mess. 

All because he has poor taste in boyfriends. 

*

Yukwon does finish grading about three quarters of the stack he has, so that’s something at least. He eventually heads back home because the barista is starting to send him unsubtle scowls for occupying the table for so long. 

“Hey, you are home?” Yukwon jumps at Jiho’s voice and turns around to see Jiho, honest to god, walks out of the apartment across the hall from Yukwon’s place. Yukwon is pretty sure Ms. Wilson still lives there.

“Did you break into someone else’s house?” Yukwon whispers through his teeth.

“Give me some credit.” Jiho snorts. “Maria invited me in.” 

“Maria?” Yukwon wrinkles his face. “Are you making friends with my neighbors?”

“She’s so badass. She was just telling me about the bike trip she took around America. You want to come in? She’s looking for her moonshine stack.”

“No,” Yukwon hisses. “Come out of there, you moron.”

“Fine,” Jiho drawls. “Let me go say goodbye to Maria first.”

Yukwon sighs as Jiho disappears into the house. Unbelievable. 

Jiho comes back out with the tiny lady that Yukwon have only met in the passing, and Yukwon gives her a greeting awkwardly. Trust Jiho to go around and make friends with neighborhood old ladies even if the old lady in question regularly wears leather from head to toe and has more tattoos than Jiho. 

“I will find that moonshine,” she is saying to Jiho. “I am so damn sure I had that last bottle somewhere.”

“Next time, Maria.” Jiho laughs and gives her a hug as Yukwon looks upon them in futile exasperation. 

And Yukwon is pretty sure that is a butt slap she gives to Jiho as she closes the door. 

“I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes.” Yukwon whispers and drags Jiho into his apartment. 

Jiho laughs and wraps his arms around Yukwon from the back, giving him successive kitten kisses on the back of his neck. “She’s nice.” 

“I am pretty sure she’s in a biker gang.” Yukwon says and closes the door, trying his best to shrug Jiho off so he can put down his bag. 

“Cool.” Jiho says. “Do you think I can be in a gang?”

“What gang? Gang for special brands of idiots?” Yukwon snorts and elbows Jiho out of his way. “I am making dinner. Ramen?”

“Actually,” Jiho pulls at him and turns him so they are standing face to face. “I came to take you out.”

“Where?” Yukwon asks and wipes away the smudge of dirt on Jiho’s forehead he probably got in Ms. Wilson, sorry, Maria’s apartment. 

“How does me, you and burritos sound?” Jiho grins.

“Sounds like a bad Mexican porn film name.” Yukwon huffs, and Jiho laughs widely. 

“Kyung says there’s a good Mexican place around here, and I promised you a date, didn’t I?”

“Fine,” Yukwon shrugs. He likes Mexican, and Jiho to an extent. So, why not?

* 

“Why don’t we take one of those couches?” Yukwon asks as Jiho leads them to sit down at one of the wooden tables next to the counter. The hostess told them that they should take one of the booths tucked in at the corner of the tiny little place if they are on a date, but Jiho resolutely leads Yukwon towards the standard table in the middle of the restaurant. 

“It’s kind of dark over there,” Jiho mumbles, and Yukwon snorts. 

“And since when are you afraid of the dark?” 

“I want to see your face under the bright light,” Jiho grins brightly, and Yukwon narrows his eyes because he knows a bullshit lie when he sees one. 

“What are you planning?” Yukwon narrows his eyes, and asks suspiciously. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. What would I be planning?” Jiho says and shoves the menu in front of Yukwon’s nose. “What do you want to eat?”

Yukwon gives him a last skeptical glance, and diverts his attention to the menu. Whatever. He is getting a free meal out of this (assuming Jiho is paying). He’ll just go along with whatever side shenanigan Jiho is brewing. 

“Do you want to share the platter?” Yukwon asks after taking a couple of minutes to scan over the menu. “Jiho?” Yukwon asks again when Jiho doesn’t reply and looks up to see Jiho narrowing his eyes at the private booth area like he is straining his eyes to see something. 

“What are you …” Yukwon turns his head to look at Jiho’s sightline, and his eyes scan the area a little before they settle on … is that Seunghoon?

Seriously?

“Seriously?” Yukwon turns at Jiho and snaps. He cannot see who Seunghoon is laughing and talking to but he can only assume it is Minho. He wonders how Seunghoon is not feeling the glare of death on his body with the intensity Jiho is staring at him. “You dragged me on a date just so you can creep on Minho?”

Jiho grimaces. “Will you believe me if I say I didn’t know they’d be here?”

That’s a yes then.

You know what. Yukwon normally has more patience than this, but not today. Today, he’s done. 

“Have fun yourself then.” He says and walks out of the restaurant, ignoring Jiho. He has papers to grade, and assignments to do. He is not going to stop Jiho from being a little shit, but Yukwon does not have to waste his time getting himself involved. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jiho follows him out of the restaurant and stops him in his track. “Okay, fine. I knew they were going to be here.”

Yeah. No shit. 

“I mean, you can’t tell me you are not curious.” Jiho says, wide-eyed and earnest. 

“No, I can definitely tell you that I am not.” Yukwon says. “Why the hell would I? If I am on a date with you, I am going to be focus on only you. Is that such a strange concept to you?”

“You said you don’t care about dates.” Jiho says, and at least, he has enough decency to look a little ashamed. 

“No, I don’t. I don’t care if you take me on dates, but if you insist on taking me on one, is it too much to ask you to do it for me?” Yukwon snaps. 

“I am sorry,” Jiho mumbles and tries to grab Yukwon’s hand. Yukwon slaps at his hand in annoyance. “Ok, let’s go to a different place? What about that barbeque place you said you want to try out?”

“Forget it,” Yukwon huffs. “I have shit to do.” 

“Babe, c’mon.” Jiho whines. “I was a dick. I admit it. I am sorry.”

“I am going home, Jiho.” Yukwon tells him. “Alone.” 

Jiho does not follow him home because he knows Yukwon well enough, but it does not take long for him to turn up at Yukwon’s doorsteps. It takes Yukwon three pouty sad selfies from Jiho, and threats to spend the night at Maria’s place to open the door. And it’s only because Yukwon does not want to be responsible for Jiho’s death by alcohol poisoning from some obscure moonshine from the 70’s. 

But Jiho is looking at him with puppy eyes and the largest tub size of Yukwon’s favorite ice cream, and Yukwon has always been a sucker for both. Plus, Jiho is always extra attentive and eager to please whenever they have make-up sex (because he is the one fucking up most of the times), so there is that.

Maybe one day, Yukwon will have enough strength and will power against Woo Jiho.

But not today.


	12. Seunghoon and Minho

**Seunghoon**

“That is the lamest R2D2 I have ever seen,” Seunghoon comments as the sad excuse of the R2D2-shaped cardboard box wobbles a little when a kid runs past it. “It’s not even the right shade of blue.”

“That’s the nerdiest thing I have heard today,” Minho turns to him and says. “And we are at a Star Wars exhibition with at least ten people dressed as Yoda.” 

“And whose bright idea was that?” Seunghoon retorts as a pair of parents walks past them together with their toddler dressed as an Ewok. Ok, fine. That is adorable.

“You said you like Star Wars.” Minho splutters in defense. “And you said you don’t like movie dates because they don’t feel like dates.” 

“I am not complaining,” Seunghoon says and bends his head down a little to lean on Minho’s shoulder. It is kind of awkward since he is the taller one, but Minho’s shoulders are comfortable enough to make up for it. “Well, I guess I was, but not about the date. I mean, if you are gonna make a cardboard cut out of R2D2, at least, put some effort in it, you know?”

Minho laughs and mutters something under his breath. Seunghoon doesn’t bother asking him what. 

“I still haven’t watched Episode 2 and 3,” Minho says out loud once they come to a stop in front of a very detailed fan art of Anakin and Padme making out. 

“I wish I still have that kind of innocence.” Seunghoon sighs. “Anyway, this is getting kind of boring. I haven’t even seen one decent Han Solo cosplayer.” 

“You know I’d look hot in a vest and V-neck,” Minho muses, and while Seunghoon agrees that he would, he also doesn’t feel like stroking Minho’s ego. For now. Maybe he’d encourage Minho to dress up a little in the future, for science.

“Do you want to go for dinner?” Seunghoon asks instead. He has to be at the mission post by 10 and they are at the other side of the town so he’d have to rush after dinner. Jaehyo is still pissed at him for dating an Alpha Psi guy so Seunghoon is trying to be on his best behavior. Although he still has no idea who snitched to Jaehyo. He has a suspicion that it might be Yukwon. 

“Ok,” Minho agrees easily, and because Seunghoon does not feel like eating overpriced hotdogs served on a Millennium Falcon themed plate, they decide on a small Thai place across the road. One thing Seunghoon has discovered about Minho (that utterly fails to surprise him) is that Minho is hardly ever picky about food. That’s always a plus in Seunghoon’s book. 

Minho is mostly plus in Seunghoon’s book.

The only minus has to be that Minho is still kind of awkward around him. Not the kind of awkward that is unbearable, but something just under the surface like Minho is trying too hard to not toe some imaginary line of offense. Seunghoon has a feeling that it might partly be his fault because they start off a little rocky, and Minho is just trying to mend an unbroken perception. 

Seunghoon’s brilliant plan to fix this is to take Minho drinking and dancing a couple of nights later to get things back into groove a little. He is pretty sure Minho is still the cocky, amusing and strangely endearing bear of a guy Seunghoon first knew him as, and it is just hiding beneath the perfect gentleman of a date front Minho has going on now. And even though the memories are still a little blurred in his head, Seunghoon has seen how much alcohol helps in loosening up Minho.

Not tonight though. Tonight is the D-day. Or should he call it D-night?

“Going home afterwards?” Seunghoon asks Minho through the dinner, admittedly, with some ulterior motives. 

“Yeah,” Minho mumbles. “I have some essays to finish. Why? You wanna do something?”

“Nah,” Seunghoon shakes his head. Perfect then. “Just asking. I have a project meeting tonight.”

“A meeting at this time?” Minho asks, looking down at his watch.

“Finance class.” Seunghoon lies. “You know how Business students are.”

“I don’t actually,” Minho wrinkles his face. “Luckily.”

“Hmm,” Seunghoon just shrugs and runs through the plan in his mind again. 

*

Minho insists on walking Seunghoon to the Business school – where Seunghoon’s non-existent project meeting is supposedly taking place – no matter how much Seunghoon tries to tell him that he really does not have to. 

It is kind of charming even though it does complicate things on Seunghoon’s side. 

“Do you want me to pick you up after your meeting ends?” Minho asks, his enthusiasm catching Seunghoon off guard a little. 

“No, no,” Seunghoon shakes his head. “I don’t even know how long it’ll go on, and my house is a stone throw away from here.”

“If you are sure,” Minho says and leans in for a kiss. 

Or at least, that’s what Seunghoon thought. And, apparently not what Minho intended to do because when Seunghoon tilts his head to reciprocate the kiss that wasn’t coming, his jaw is instead met with a hard bone, and Minho is suddenly screaming, clutching at his face. 

“Shit,” Seunghoon swears, rubbing at his numb jaw. “What the shit Minho?”

“Me?” Minho mumbles behind the hand on his face. “You are the one who broke my face!”

“Oh my god, you are bleeding,” Seunghoon says, suddenly forgetting about the pain on his jaw as he spots the small stains of blood of Minho’s fingers. 

“Aww man,” Minho whines, looking at his fingers. 

Seunghoon drags him into the washroom on the first floor of the building, hoping they don’t bump into any late night student or a stray security guard because he’s pretty sure it’d seem like he just punched Minho in the face. 

“I am really sorry,” Seunghoon says, wetting some tissues and pressing them onto Minho’s nose which does not look broken at least. 

“It’s fine,” Minho mumbles, and turns his face upward with the blotch of tissues stuffed on top of his nose. “Just not my night.”

“If that’s how you kiss,” Seunghoon says. “Then you really need to reconsider your techniques.” 

“I wasn’t kissing you,” Minho complains. “I was giving you a hug. Why would you think I was kissing?”

Seunghoon glares at him. Not going to lie – that stings a little. “I don’t know. If my date leans in after the date ends and I am not a 14 year old high school virgin, I’m gonna think he’s gonna kiss me.”

Minho looks down at his shoes.

“And it is not like you are a chastity kind of guy.” Seunghoon continues on. “I mean, you groped my ass pretty hard on the 3rd or 4th time we met so forgive me for assuming.”

“I was drunk that night,” Minho says as an excuse, but does not deny further. “I just wasn’t sure if you’d want me to. You know. Kiss you.” 

“And why would that be?” Seunghoon sighs exasperatedly, throwing away the used tissues into a nearby bin. “Did you miss the whole of last week that we have been going out?”

“I just…” Minho sighs and leans against the sink. “I just want to do this right. I don’t want to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.” 

“Too late,” Seunghoon mutters, hoping Minho won’t catch the words. 

“Listen, dude,” Seunghoon says, standing straight to his full height in front of Minho. “I am a fairly simple guy. I won’t be going out with you to dates and holding your hand if I do not like you or do not want to kiss you. You have nothing to worry or try to compensate for.” 

Seunghoon can see Minho trying his best not to break out into a huge smile, and it looks incredibly dumb especially with the patch of blood-stained tissues up his nose. 

“So, that’s permission to kiss and do other things then?” Minho grins.

“ _Other things._ ” Seunghoon snorts and imitates Minho’s voice. “I can’t believe you are actually 12 years old.”

“What does that say about you then? Since you are dating me.” Minho laughs and throws away the tissues that were on his face before pulling Seunghoon in by the waist to kiss him. This time, thankfully, with zero casualty. 

It is kind of weird to be kissing someone whose nose is wet, but Seunghoon cannot exactly complain especially when Minho nibbles on his lower lip and Seunghoon suddenly wants to climb Minho right here and now. Public washroom hygiene be damned. 

Minho probably has the same idea because his hands are either trying to find some hidden treasure in the back pocket of Seunghoon’s jeans or he is just really, aggressively feeling Seunghoon’s ass. 

“Can you skip your meeting?” Minho whispers. “Stay with me tonight.” 

And for a split second, Seunghoon wants to say yes because what meeting? Then he remembers and his watch is saying it is 15 past 10 PM. Shit.

“I can’t,” Seunghoon says pleadingly. “I am so sorry. I really want to.” 

Minho sighs like he is expecting Seunghoon’s answer. It somehow just fuels Seunghoon’s guilt. “It is fine. Bad timing.”

“Tomorrow night.” Seunghoon stresses. “I promise.”

“I just realize something.” Minho says, distracted and Seunghoon pauses.

“What?”

“I was going to say let’s hang out at my place tomorrow night but I would have to sneak you in unless you want to get roasted from both end.” Minho says.

“Shit,” Seunghoon says with feelings. “Probably same with my place. Actually, it’s worse because I have a roommate.”

“We are doomed.” Minho sighs. “I guess love motels exist for a reason.”

“Gross,” Seunghoon complains. “We’ll figure it out later. I mean, I already sneaked out of your house once. I can do it again. But I really need to go now.”

“Ok,” Minho says, dropping his hands from Seunghoon’s waist. “I’ll call you.”

“Yeah,” Seunghoon nods and runs out of the washroom first, making sure he is not in Minho’s sightline before heading his way towards Alpha Psi house. He is so fucking late.

*

When Seunghoon reaches the very conveniently placed and humongous trash bins in front of the Alpha Psi house, only Taehyun is there, peeking through the narrow space between the two bins towards the Alpha Psi house.

“Why are you dressed like a Goth kid during Y2k?” Seunghoon asks firstly, pointing at the head to toe black clothing Taehyun is in, complete with a black choker and a beret.

Seriously, a beret.

“And where’s the rest?” He adds on and sits down next to Taehyun. “I thought I was late.” 

“They went back to get the stuff.” Taehyun answers. “Looks like Alpha Psi dudes are all turning in early. Only your boyfriend is still out.”

“He’d be here soon,” Seunghoon says, deliberately ignoring the snide tone from Taehyun. 

“I can’t believe you are dating the enemy,” Taehyun hisses. “And I can’t believe Jaehyo hyung leaves you breathing.” 

“I appreciate the support.” Seunghoon huffs and pulls at Taehyun’s choker to snap it against his neck. 

“This choker costs more than your entire outfit,” Taehyun glares at him, rubbing at his neck.

“Sorry,” Seunghoon raises his hand and drawls. “Seriously, you are gonna get paint all over your clothes. You should have worn something old.”

“This is my spy couture outfit,” Taehyun replies without missing a beat. “Plus, if I get paint on them, they’d look more authentic.”

“Hipster.” Seunghoon shakes his head and snorts. 

“There is your dude,” Taehyun points through the gap and whispers. Seunghoon pokes his head out a little to see Minho walking towards the Alpha Psi house without any idea that Seunghoon is literally across the street, creeping. 

“He’s hot, right?” Seunghoon turns to Taehyun and grins. “C’mon. Even you can’t deny that.” 

“Fine,” Taehyun says reluctantly as if it is causing him a great deal of pain to say the words. “He looks alright, I guess.”

“Alright, my ass.” Seunghoon mutters. “You’d be jumping his bones if he wasn’t from Alpha Psi.”

“Exactly,” Taehyun replies. “If he wasn’t from Alpha Psi. He’s partly responsible for fucking up our party and those pictures are still giving me night terrors from time to time. Do you really like him that much?”

“Well, my heart isn’t exactly growing wings of love and flying into the sun of eternal joy when it comes to him.” 

Taehyun glares at him. 

“But I like him, ok?” Seunghoon shrugs. “He’s hot and funny and kind of a dork.”

“Whatever,” Taehyun mutters and looks down at his phone. “It’s your grave. Dig as deep as you want.” 

Seunghoon just laughs. 

“Jaehyo hyung wants to know if there’s anyone still up.” Taehyun says, reading the message off his phone. 

“Minho, obviously.” Seunghoon says, pointing at the lone room with light on. “That’s his room.”

“I am not even going to ask how you know that.” Taehyun snorts. “He’s asking if we want any food. They are stopping by at Wendy’s first.”

“I want -” Seunghoon starts.

“Oh sorry. He says traitors don’t get shit.” Taehyun grins up at him and Seunghoon gives him a kick. 

“I am going to choke you to death with your own beret.” He hisses, but Taehyun just shoves his phone into Seunghoon’s face. 

“That’s what Jaehyo hyung says. Don’t take it out on me.”

“Whatever,” Seunghoon mutters and takes out his phone to text Jinwoo. Hopefully Jinwoo still loves him enough to sneak him some shakes and fries behind Jaehyo’s back.

He has a long night of work to do. He is going to need the strength.

** Minho **

Minho’s first thought when he wakes up is that he is up too early – just when the sun is rising in fact. But his alarm which he definitely set for 8:30 in the morning has been shrilling into his ears for the past few seconds.

His second thought after he rubs his eyes to settle his vision is that the apocalypse has finally come because the insides of his room is unnaturally red. The light shining through his windows is a shade of bloodshot you’d probably see in hell. 

He doesn’t even have time to reach to a logical conclusion before Jihoon pokes his head into his room and drags him out, ignoring Minho’s confused questions and grunts. 

A couple of brothers are in front of the house, looking up at it when Minho and Jihoon gets out of the house. Jiho and Yukwon are huddled together under a blanket, both topless and in their boxers. Minho does not want to think about what they were doing before they get obviously dragged out of Jiho’s bed. He shakes himself out of that line of thought before he is ruined for life and turns to look up at where everyone else is gaping at. 

Their house is pink.

And not even a normal pink. Bright, sparkly, Hello Kitty pink. With glitters.

Seriously, it is glistening for the lack of a better word. It reminds him of the cheap sequined pink dresses mom puts Dana in for New Years when she was young. She still hasn’t forgiven mom for them and tries her best to burn the evidence pictures whenever she has a chance. 

“I feel like I need sunglasses.” Jihoon says next to him, blinking rapidly and using his hand to shield his eyes. 

“So much glitter,” Taeil says, half in awe. There are even sprinkles of glitter on the dry patch of grass they are standing on, and Minho is pretty sure that if he lifts up his socked feet right now, it’d look like he’s been walking all over a kid’s art project. 

“I kind of like it.” Yukwon says and Minho turns to look at him in disbelief. “It is … unique.” 

Kyung snorts and Taeil makes some kind of grunting noise. 

“You know what? Kwonnie is right.” Jiho says to absolutely no one’s surprise. “It is 2016. Men can rock pink and glitter too.” 

“I am not living in a sparkly princess house because your boyfriend thinks it’s cute, Jiho.” Kyung hisses. 

“No, think about it.” Jiho turns to Kyung and says earnestly. “We can easily paint this over but that only shows the flowerboys we care.”

The flowerboys, of course.

Lee Seunghoon, you jerk. 

“But if we act like they are actually doing us a favor, wouldn’t that be more frustrating for them?” Jiho is continuing. “I mean, we actually do need a new paintjob.” 

“If it helps, your prank was far better,” Yukwon turns to Kyung and says. “I mean pink and glitter has nothing on your face.” 

Kyung throws up a middle finger at him but looks a little satisfied. 

“I think the color itself will look nice enough once the glitter comes off.” Jihoon comments. “It will come off, right?”

Minho very sincerely hopes so. 

“Fine.” Kyung grunts. “I am already living with a couple of love sick teenage girls anyway.” He sends a glare Minho’s way and Minho just pulls his arms into a heart above his head. 

“Can we at least take off the paints from the window?” Daniel asks. “The rooms feel like some nuclear high alert situation rooms.” 

“Yeah,” Jiho nods. “Minho, go buy some paint solvents or whatever they are called. Ask the dudes at Home Depot.” 

“What?” Minho splutters. “Why me? I just woke up.”

“Because I say so,” Jiho says in his dictator voice and drags himself and Yukwon back into the house. “And do it quickly.” He shouts from the inside of the house. 

Jihoon pats him on the back in condolence but he too disappears into the house as well. Bastard.

Minho sulks his way through shower and sends Seunghoon a couple of accusatory texts. He must have been planning this last night. That asshole.

Seunghoon just replies with a string of hearts like that is supposed to the make things better. Minho will just call him later and bitch him out. He can’t believe Seunghoon stopped making out with him so that he can go and turn Minho’s house into a glittery Barbie doll house.

He is zipping his hoodie up when he notices it - the heart-shaped shadow on his floor, right in front of his laundry basket, coming from the bastardized window. Minho inches in, taking a closer look at the pink glass panes – the one on the bottom right corner actually is painted around a heart-shaped gap, making the light shines into a red panel with a heart in the middle on his floor. 

“Crazy son of a …” Minho mutters and pokes his toes at the shadow on the floor. It is not even that much of a romantic gesture when Minho has to scrap off the paint off of the windows.

But he can’t help himself, ok? He finds it cute as fuck. When he first met Seunghoon, he has a feeling that Seunghoon is someone who can drive him crazy easily and it seems he is intent on proving it. 

Later, when he has to spend a good few hours on a ladder, trying his best to scrap the paint off of his windows, Minho leaves the paint intact on the heart-shaped glass panel. It looks kind of artsy and cool anyway.

Seunghoon did bring him – aka sneaked in when Jiho and Kyung were out – some apology cupcakes, and laughed breathless when he saw Minho’s glittery paint-streaked hand because he is a little shit.

But the joke is on Seunghoon anyway because he is the one with glitter and paint streaks on his face (and the back of his pants) after they ended up making out at the back of the house before they got caught by Jihoon who takes all of the leftover cupcakes as the price for his silence.


	13. Yukwon and Jiho

** Yukwon **

Yukwon is trying to avoid Maria. He went out this morning to get his mail, and she cornered him – asking him why Jiho hasn’t been visiting lately. There was even a hint of accusation in her tone like Yukwon is holding Jiho hostage in a dark basement somewhere. He tried his best to explain that Jiho is busy and he’ll be coming around soon. That seemed to have at least appeased her. 

Jiho makes the weirdest friends, he swears to god.

Jiho is held up in his studio again – at least he is not caught up trying to one up Nu Sigma, thank god for small miracles. Not that he has dropped it completely, but Jiho is very one-track-minded so when his brain is full of beats and rhythms and words, he tends to forget about the rest of the world, and it grants the rest of the world a short peaceful time. 

Anyway, Yukwon will probably go and feed Jiho in the evening, but right now, he just heard Maria left her place, so he can probably go out now without getting attacked by a lady his grandma age asking about his boyfriend. 

“Whoa, just in time, dude.” 

No. This can’t be happening. 

“Why are you two here?” Yukwon sighs and asks, barely restraining himself from hitting his head against the door. 

Minho and Seunghoon give him matching grins. 

“I brought these,” Seunghoon lifts the clear plastic container in his hand, and says. “If it helps.”

“Did Jaehyo hyung poison these before sending them to me?” Yukwon asks, eyeing the brownies in the container untrustingly. 

“I stole them while Jaehyo hyung left them to cool down.” Seunghoon says, and Yukwon raises an eyebrow. 

“RIP to you in advance,” he says and takes the container from Seunghoon’s hand. “But, like I said, why are you two here?”

“Can we go in first?” Minho says, bouncing a little in his steps. “I need to pee.”

Yukwon did hit his head against the door. 

*

“Your place is really nice,” Seunghoon says while Minho runs into the washroom and bangs the door so loudly that Yukwon is temporarily worried about it falling off the hinge. 

“Thanks,” Yukwon says, shoving a hopefully-free-of-poison brownie in his mouth. He did some cleaning this morning while he was hiding from Maria so the place is looking a little presentable, until Jiho’s eventual arrival anyway. 

“Just for the record,” Seunghoon says. “Whatever Minho is about to say to you, I want you to know it’s all his idea and I am just tagging along.” 

Yukwon wants to snort but he also strangely empathizes with Seunghoon, since Minho and Jiho are basically peas from the same frustratingly stubborn pod. “What’s he up to now?”

“Yukwon hyung,” Minho yells his way through into the living room, before Seunghoon can even open his mouth to answer. “Really nice place, bro.” 

“Uh-huh.” Yukwon says, crossing his arms and staring down at Minho. 

“Why do you always spend time at our house if your place is this nice?” Minho asks. 

“You think I’m willing to expose my place to Woo Jiho for more than what’s necessary?” Yukwon snorts. “I like it undamaged, thanks.” 

“See, I was thinking,” Minho continues, showing no sign of having listened to Yukwon. “Since you are at our house for most nights anyway,”

“I really am not…”

“Do you mind if me and Seunghoon come over sometimes?”

“What?” Yukwon blinks, and looks over to Seunghoon to confirm if Minho is saying what Yukwon thinks he is saying. 

Seunghoon gives him a grin – or a grimace, Yukwon can’t tell. 

“Are you …” Yukwon squints his eyes. “Are you asking me if you can have sex at my place?”

“You don’t have to sound crude,” Minho mumbles. “I mean, just some place we can hang out, since you know, Jiho hyung is still staring Seunghoon down whenever he sees him, and I am too scared to go over to Nu Sigma house.” 

“Is he for real?” Yukwon asks Seunghoon, pointing to Minho.

“Like I said,” Seunghoon says and raises his hands in air. “Not my idea.”

“Traitor,” Minho turns and mouths the words to Seunghoon. 

“I am not running some love motel here Minho,” Yukwon grits through his teeth.

“C’mon hyunnng,” Minho whines. “We got caught by Kyungie hyung twice this week, and he refused to leave my room the second time. He just sat there on the floor and kept staring at us.”

“It was very traumatizing.” Seunghoon nods along. 

“I don’t care,” Yukwon shakes his head. “Grow a spine, Minho. Tell Jiho and Kyung to fuck off.”

Minho gives him a look, which, fair enough. That might not go well for everyone involved. 

“Still a no,” Yukwon says firmly. 

Minho pouts. Yukwon is not Jiho, so he is not affected at all. 

“We’ll do your laundry,” Seunghoon pipes up and Yukwon stares him down. So much for just tagging along. “And you know, help you clean up your place, feed your cat, etc.”

“I don’t have a cat.” Yukwon reminds him.

“Really?” Seunghoon scrunches his face. “You look like a cat person.”

Yukwon lets out a sigh and massages his temples. He really has no one to blame but himself. 

“It’ll only be for a short time.” Minho presses in. “Before Jiho hyung got used to Seunghoon being around.”

“Or before he succeeds and kills me with his mind.” Seunghoon mumbles. 

“I am locking my bedroom,” Yukwon sighs. “And don’t eat my food.”

Minho perks up and starts nodding vigorously. 

“And, I swear to god, if you break anything…”

“We won’t.” Seunghoon cuts in. “Really. We will take care of everything. I mean, you can think of it as just us looking after your place over night.”

“I am going to regret it so much,” Yukwon laments. “Is this all or is there any other outrageous request you’d like to make?”

“No, no,” Minho grins widely. “Jiho hyung’s at the studio by the way.” 

“I know. I am going over later.” 

“He’s been there for quite a while,” Minho says, biting into his lower lip. “Maybe you should, you know, go and check on him now.”

Seunghoon pinches him not so subtly in the waist, and Yukwon blinks a couple of times. The nerve of this kid.

“Are you trying to sexile me from my own place right now?”

“No, of course not.” Minho lies in his best offended tone. “Why would you think that?” Yukwon suppresses the urge to drag him out of the door by his ear. 

“You know what? I give up. You are so obviously brought up by Jiho.” Yukwon says and grabs his keys. “Shameless, the both of you.”

“I am sorry if it’s any condolence.” Seunghoon says. 

“It’s really not,” Yukwon says. “And good luck to you, from one sufferer to another.” 

“You love us, really.” Minho hops along besides him and says. “Jiho hyung really did good with you.”

“Get out of my sight before I break up with Jiho over you.” Yukwon hisses. Minho mimes zipping up his lips and sprints back over to the couch. 

“Don’t burn the place down,” Yukwon says before getting out of the door. “And don’t talk to any neighbor, especially strange old ladies.”

Seunghoon looks a little unnerved, but nods at him. Yukwon shuts the door, wonders where his life has gone wrong and heads towards the lift.

Fucking Woo Jiho.

** Jiho **

The first thing Yukwon says when Jiho opens the door of the studio is “You are the worst thing to ever happen to me.”

So, you know, nothing new. 

“Ooh, Pad Thai?” Jiho says instead of replying to Yukwon and grabs at the Styrofoam box in Yukwon’s hand. “Nice.”

“I hate you.” Yukwon grunts. 

“I love you too.” Jiho replies distractedly because he is too busy trying to find a clean place on his table to put the Pad Thai container on. “And what did I do by the way? You look more annoyed than usual.”

“What didn’t you do?” Yukwon mumbles and drops himself on the couch, kicking at Jiho’s thigh in the process. 

“Scoot,” Jiho shoos at Yukwon’s legs so he can also sit down on the couch and eat his favorite food that his boyfriend, who apparently hates him, remembers to get him. “Want a foot rub?”

Yukwon takes his feet out of Jiho’s grip and snorts. “Eat your damn noodles. I am taking a nap.” 

Jiho just squeezes Yukwon’s shin in reply and stuffs his face. God, when was the last time he even ate?

Yukwon really did fall asleep and because Jiho sometimes is a good person, he doesn’t actually draw cat whiskers on Yukwon’s face no matter how much he wants to. Plus, he has tracks to finalize anyway. Jiho can always focus more when Yukwon is around him even when he is doing much as just sleeping - his stable breathing makes better background white noise than anything else to settle Jiho’s ever wandering mind. Not that Jiho will ever tell Yukwon that because Yukwon already has a shitload of ammo against Jiho. 

It is, however, getting a little boring when Yukwon doesn’t get up even after Jiho has done with all his tracks and has moved on to playing bounce with his stress ball. Jiho decides enough is enough when he accidentally threw the stress ball under the couch that Yukwon is sleeping on. 

“Hey,” Jiho nudges at Yukwon’s shoulder. “Babe.” 

Yukwon groans and tries to bat at Jiho’s hand. 

“Did you not get any sleep last night?” Jiho asks. “You’ve been sleeping for hours.” And by hours, he means about 40 minutes, but you know, whatever. 

Yukwon mumbles something and tries to rub at his eyes. Jiho grabs at his hand because he is gonna complain about his eyes being sore later if he rubs his eyes. 

“Still hate me?” Jiho smiles down at him. 

Yukwon gives him a smile because no matter how annoyed Yukwon is, it rarely ever lasts and he is back to being sunshine and rainbow in a matter of hours. 

“So much,” Yukwon whispers, voice coming out hoarse and sleep-ridden. “Loathe and despise.” 

Jiho laughs and climbs over him, hands gripping over Yukwon’s jaw. 

“Wanna go back to your place?” He asks, before leaning down to kiss Yukwon along the jawline. “You can show me how much you hate me.”

“No, let’s not.” Yukwon says, too urgently in fact. Jiho stops kissing him because what the fuck. 

“I mean,” Yukwon says when Jiho lifts his head up to look at him. “Remember when you said you’ve never had sex in the studio?”

“And you said it is never happening because it’s gross.” Jiho reminds him. 

“Can’t I change my mind?” Yukwon says, biting his lower lip and bringing up a finger to trace over Jiho’s lips. And yes, of course, Yukwon can change his mind. Yukwon can do anything he wants. 

“I am going to bend you over the keyboard,” Jiho says, face buried in the crook of Yukwon’s neck, and Yukwon groans. Jiho can’t tell if it is a good or a bad groan, but he doesn’t particularly care, not when Yukwon’s hands are unzipping his pants and Jiho has a mouthful of skin to lick on. 

“Yo. Jiho!”

Jiho almost bangs his head against the table as he ungracefully falls off of Yukwon and onto the cold hard floor. 

“Jesus Christ, Park Kyung.” Jiho groans, passing over a newspaper on the table to Yukwon so he can put it over his open fly. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

“I got a key because I don’t want to knock,” Kyung says, matter-of-factly like he didn’t just walk in and cock blocked the shit out of Jiho. 

“You give him a key and not me?” Yukwon asks, and fuck, that’s not a conversation Jiho wants to be having right now. Jiho does not want to be having any conversation at all right now actually. 

“I actually do recording here.” Kyung says and kicks at Jiho’s back. “Pull up your pants. We are going out.” 

“No, we are not.” Jiho turns and snaps at him. Yukwon throws the small throw pillow at Jiho’s head and gives him a look that says they will be having this conversation later on. 

It is only because Kwonnie is distracting, ok? Jiho knows he has Jiho’s best interest at heart when he tries to force Jiho to stop working and eat or sleep, but sometimes, Jiho hates stopping in the mid of his work to do basic human functions that are beneath him. 

“You said you’d come with me.” Kyung is saying and impatiently looking down at his watch. “C’mon. We’re gonna be late.”

“What is going on?” Yukwon says, apparently distracted enough by Kyung to be glaring at Jiho. 

“My sister is here.” Kyung says, like that explains everything.

“Saehim noona?” Yukwon asks. “What about her?”

“Kyung thinks she’s dating someone from campus.” Jiho explains and gets up, making sure to pull up his pants zip and moaning over his boner dying down. “He wants to spy on her.” 

Yukwon blinks at them. “Does any of you ever think to behave like normal humans and, I don’t know, ask her?”

“She wouldn’t tell me,” Kyung says confidently. “She’s been acting so sneaky for past few months. She’s hiding something from me.” 

“Want to come with us?” Jiho holds a hand out. 

Yukwon sighs before taking Jiho’s hand. “What the hell. I don’t have any morals left since dating you anyway.”

*

Saehim gives Jiho the usual stink eye when Kyung meets her at the campus canteen. 

“You still look like a delinquent.” She says. “Kwonnie, are you still seeing this loser?”

“Unfortunately,” Yukwon nods. Jiho tightens his hold over Yukwon’s waist and grins widely at Saehim. 

“You know,” Kyung says, taking the brown box in Saehim’s hand. “Mom usually sends me food via post.”

“Is that the way to treat your sister who just flew back from Korea to bring you home-cooked food?” Saehim grunts. Classic evading answer. “Plus, postal fees is expensive and it’s not like we don’t live in the same city.” 

“Then why did you ask me to never come over to your place?” Kyung narrows his eyes. 

“Shove it,” Saehim mumbles. “I am going. I have dinner plans.” 

“With who?” Kyung asks as Saehim turns to leave.

“With _whom_?” Saehim calls back. “Learn some English, Kyung.”

“Nerd,” Kyung yells back before Saehim disappears out of the door. “C’mon. We are following her. Jiho, you take this box.”

Jiho grunts but holds the pretty heavy box and tries to catch up with Kyung as he creeps quickly after Saehim. Yukwon looks pretty judgmental, but keeps up nonetheless. 

“Ok, she is definitely not going to the parking lot.” Yukwon says as Saehim turns towards the library, the exact opposite from where her car should be parked. 

“What did I tell you?” Kyung turns and says smugly. “C’mon. We can’t lose her.” 

“Wait, wait,” Jiho kicks at Kyung from behind. “She’s stopping.” 

They duck behind one of the bigger pillars next to the library as Saehim stops and starts to look around. 

“She’s definitely seeing someone, alright?” Kyung whispers to Jiho, but Jiho can’t pay attention to him because there is something liquid-y on his hands. 

“Dude, your box is leaking.” Jiho hisses. “Fuck, it is on my shirt. I think it’s Kimchi. Shit.”

“Put the box down then,” Kyung hisses back. “She’s gonna hear your fucking whining.” 

Jiho considers throwing the box at his head, but most likely, he will be eating the contents of this box for the upcoming days, so he is not surely if it’s worth it. 

“Erm, guys,” Yukwon says, pulling at Jiho’s shirt. “You might want to count backwards from ten before looking.” 

So, of course, Jiho snaps his head pretty quickly to look at where Yukwon is staring at. 

“No….” Kyung utters in complete horror.

Jiho supports that sentiment. 

“Jiho,” Kyung blindly reaches his hand out and Jiho grabs at it in solidary. “Jiho, tell me I am hallucinating and it is not Ahn Jaehyo kissing my sister.” 

Yukwon starts laughing next to them, ultimately shoving his face into Jiho’s chest while Jiho stands there frozen, hand in hand with Kyung. 

“I think we should start going to church again.” Jiho turns to Kyung and says in complete seriousness. First, Minho and now Saehim. _Are you fucking kidding me?_

Yukwon laughs even harder into Jiho’s chest. 

“Why are we so fucking incestual with the flowerboy house?” Kyung spits. “What have we done to deserve this? Jiho, what the fuck. What is next? Is Taewoon hyung gonna drop by and tell us he’s dating Lee Minhyuk?” 

“I’ll disown him.” Jiho says reassuringly, and drops to sit on the ground energy-less. Kyung sits down next to him, looking like he has aged ten years. 

“Thank you,” Yukwon giggles. “Thank you for bringing me here. God, this is the best day ever.” 

“I might end up getting related to Ahn Jaehyo.” Kyung says in absolute abhor, and that sends Yukwon over on his knees. 

Jiho leans over and pats Kyung on the back in condolence while Yukwon continues being a little shit and laughing himself to death next to them. 

“Seriously,” Jiho says and exhales out a breath. “Church.” 

Minho, his prodigal son, is dating a flowerboy, so is Kyung’s sister – Ahn Jaehyo out of all flowerboys even. Their house is glitter pink and Jiho has Kimchi juice all over his shirt.

All in all, it is safe to say that _this_? This is not how Jiho has envisioned this year to have gone at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with this story until the end. I hope you had some fun reading it. xx


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